Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov has signed a constitutional law authorizing the launch of a central bank digital currency pilot project while also giving the “digital som” — the national currency in digital form — legal tender status.
The law gives the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic the exclusive right to issue the digital som, establish the rules for its issuance and circulation, and oversee the platform on which the national currency will operate, Kyrgyzstan’s presidential office said on April 17.
However, a final decision on whether to officially issue the CBDC is not expected until the end of 2026, local outlet Trend News Agency reported in December.
If the central bank decides to adopt the digital som, it would also need to outline cryptographic protection measures to ensure the digital som remains secure and isn’t used for fraudulent transactions.
Testing of the digital som platform is expected to take place sometime this year.
Zhaparov’s sign-off comes nearly a month after Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh, approved the amendment to Kyrgyzstan’s constitutional law on March 18.
CBDCs continue to be heavily criticized by some members of the crypto community, flagging concerns that they could undermine financial privacy and enable excessive government oversight, among other things.
While 115 nations have initiated CBDC projects, only four CBDCs have officially launched — the Bahamas Sand Dollar, Nigeria’s e-Naira, Zimbabwe’s ZiG and Jamaica’s JAM-DEX, data from cbdctracker.org shows.
Over 90 CBDC projects are yet to move past the research stage.
Kyrgyzstan continues to make moves in crypto
Earlier this month, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said he would begin advising Kyrgyzstan on blockchain and crypto-related regulation after signing a memorandum of understanding with the country’s foreign investment agency.
Zhaparov said the initiative would assist with the growth of the economy and the security of virtual assets, “generating new opportunities for businesses and society as a whole.”
Over 30% of Kyrgyzstan’s total energy supply comes from hydroelectric power plants, but only 10% of the country’s potential hydropower has been tapped, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.
COVID-19 fraud and error cost the taxpayer nearly £11bn, a government watchdog has found.
Pandemic support programmes such as furlough, bounce-back loans, support grants and Eat Out to Help Out led to £10.9bn in fraud and error, COVID Counter-Fraud Commissioner Tom Hayhoe’s final report has concluded.
Lack of government data to target economic support made it “easy” for fraudsters to claim under more than one scheme and secure dual funding, the report said.
Weak accountability, bad quality data and poor contracting were identified as the primary causes of the loss.
The government has said the sum is enough to fund daily free school meals for the UK’s 2.7 million eligible children for eight years.
An earlier report from Mr Hayhoe for the Treasury in June found that failed personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the pandemic cost the British taxpayer £1.4 billion, with £762 million spent on unused protective equipment unlikely ever to be recovered.
Factors behind the lost money had included government over-ordering of PPE, and delays in checking it.
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Stablecoin issuer Circle has secured regulatory approval to operate as a financial service provider in the Abu Dhabi International Financial Center, deepening its push into the United Arab Emirates.
In an announcement Tuesday, Circle Internet Group said it received a Financial Services Permission license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre of Abu Dhabi. This allows the stablecoin issuer to operate as a Money Services Provider in the IFC.
The USDC (USDC) issuer also appointed Saeeda Jaffar as its managing director for Circle Middle East and Africa. The new executive also serves as a senior vice president and group country manager for the Gulf Operation Council at Visa and will be tasked with developing the stablecoin issuer’s regional strategy and partnerships.
Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the relevant regulatory framework “sets a high bar for transparency, risk management, and consumer protection,” adding that those standards are needed if “trusted stablecoins” are going to support payments and finance at scale.
The newly introduced Federal Decree Law No. 6 of 2025 brings DeFi platforms, related services and infrastructure providers under the scope of regulations if they enable payments, exchange, lending, custody, or investment services, with licenses now required. Local crypto lawyer Irina Heaver said that “DeFi projects can no longer avoid regulation by claiming they are just code.”
Crypto companies seeking a US federal bank charter should be treated no differently than other financial institutions, says Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Gould told a blockchain conference on Monday that some new charter applicants in the digital or fintech spaces could be seen as offering novel activities for a national trust bank, but noted “custody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades.”
“There is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently,” he added. “Additionally, it is important that we do not confine banks, including current national trust banks, to the technologies or businesses of the past.”
The OCC regulates national banks and has previously seen crypto companies as a risk to the banking system. Only two crypto banks are OCC-licensed: Anchorage Digital, which has held a charter since 2021, and Erebor, which got a preliminary banking charter in October.
Crypto “should have” a way to supervision
Gould said that the banking system has the “capacity to evolve from the telegraph to the blockchain.”
He added that the OCC had received 14 applications to start a new bank so far this year, “including some from entities engaged in novel or digital asset activities,” which was nearly equal to the number of similar applications that the OCC received over the last four years.
Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould giving remarks at the 2025 Blockchain Association Policy Summit. Source: YouTube
“Chartering helps ensure that the banking system continues to keep pace with the evolution of finance and supports our modern economy,” he added. “That is why entities that engage in activities involving digital assets and other novel technologies should have a pathway to become federally supervised banks.”
Gould brushes off banks’ concerns
Gould noted that banks and financial trade groups had raised concerns about crypto companies getting banking charters and the OCC’s ability to oversee them.
“Such concerns risk reversing innovations that would better serve bank customers and support local economies,” he said. “The OCC has also had years of experience supervising a crypto-native national trust bank.”
Gould said the regulator was “hearing from existing national banks, on a near daily basis, about their own initiatives for exciting and innovative products and services.”
“All of this reinforces my confidence in the OCC’s ability to effectively supervise new entrants as well as new activities of existing banks in a fair and even-handed manner,” he added.