Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced its Project Guardian, a collaboration with the financial industry aimed at expanding asset tokenization initiatives and developing foundational capabilities.
Following the MAS’s Project Guardian, Ravi Menon, a MAS Managing Director introduced a live pilot project for a Singapore dollar-based central bank digital currency (CBDC). The program aims to facilitate instant settlement between local commercial banks.
The MAS revealed three initiative keys to ensure the safe use of digital currency: instant payment, seamless financial transactions, and a trusted sustainability ecosystem. In addition, the MAS published the Orchid Blueprint, which sets out the technical infrastructure that is required to facilitate digital currency transactions in the future.
In line with the financial sector’s digital currency trials, the MAS will begin the development of CBDCs for wholesale interbank settlement next year. Future pilots may include the use of “live” wholesale CBDCs to settle cross-border securities transactions.
