According to news on November 15, Binur Zhalenov, chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Payments Company (NPC), has conducted the first transaction using central bank digital currency (CBDC). Zhalenov today announced the official launch of "Digital Tenge" on the Kazakhstan retail market and promised to achieve "large-scale platform development" in 2024. Zhalenov said Kazakhstan works with Visa and Mastercard as well as local banks to make payments using debit cards tied to CBDC accounts.
Zhalenov also highlighted the “programmable” potential of the digital tenge, which can be used for smart contracts, innovative financial services and digital asset transactions. He said that the development of CBDC next year will focus on offline payments, and by 2025, NPC is expected to adopt digital tenge in cross-border trade. (Cointelegraph)