Qatar Central Bank launches first phase of CBDC project

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has completed the infrastructure construction of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project and launched the first phase of its experimental project. QCB will study large-value payment settlements between local large banks and international banks. The project will last until October and focus on distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence, liquidity and securities trading. QCB began researching CBDC technology in March 2022 and confirmed the launch of the project in June of the same year. QCB Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saoud al-Thani said in May this year that "we are in the foundation stage and are evaluating the pros and cons of issuing CBDC." A day before announcing the CBDC project, QCB launched a new fintech sandbox Express Sandbox to provide a fast testing and evaluation process. The project is part of the national development strategy. (Cointelegraph)