Qatar Starts Exploring Digital Banks And CBDCs: Report

Qatar starts exploring digital banks and central bank digital currencies which are going to set a direction for the various fintech verticals so let’s read more in today’s latest cryptocurrency news.

The Qatar central bank is investigating the possibility of launching a digital currency and issuing a digital bank license so according to the head of the fintech section at QCB, Alanood Abdullah Al Muftah, the central bank is expected to set a direction for the future focus soon on a range of the fintech verticals. Al Muftah noted that QCB will determine whether the country can establish a central bank digital currency and she explained:

“Each central bank should study digital banks, considering their growing significance in the global market. We also see the direction of the market moving toward having a digital currency. However, it’s still being studied whether we’re having a digital currency or not.”

Commenting on the Qatar regulatory sandbox, Al Muftah said that the companies in the payment sector are testing out solutions with the central bank and stated that QCB is considering other companies interested in utilizing the regulatory sandbox. A regulatory sandbox is a place where fintech companies can test the new products, businesses, and models in a real-world setting while still benefitting from an accelerated authorization process and supervisory monitoring.

As Qatar starts exploring digital banks and CBDCs, Srinivasan warned that his institution will build a digital bank after a better understanding of the economy and the Dukhan Bank is also considering blockchain technology in the payment sector. The private virtual currencies like BTC grew in popularity and followers with government-backed CBDCs being regarded as an antithesis to the private cryptocurrencies which were accelerating fast. As per the data from Atlantic Council, abou t87 nations are developing their own digital currency and about 14 have completed the pilot phase, and nine countries already implemented a CBDC.

As recently reported, Canada’s central bank collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to launch the twelve-month project on central bank digital currencies and the study will inform the financial institution about the product’s merits and implementation in the monetary networks. According to the recent announcement, MIT and the Bank of Canada will be joining the many countries which started exploring CBDCs. The bank partnered with MIT on a one-year research project in order to explore how advanced technologies can affect the design of a CBDC.