The Ghanian apex monetary authority, the Bank of Ghana (BOG), has unveiled the advanced stages of its pilot test for its proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) dubbed the Digital Cedes.
According to a report by PYMNTS, the BOG Gov. Ernest Addison said the agency is now “in the advanced stages” of introducing its CBDC while also cautioning against “unregulated” digital currencies.
“I think there is a lot more emphasis on looking at digital money, which is backed by the state, backed by the central banks. These private forms of money are not able to perform the functions of money effectively,” he said during a press conference.
Addison revealed that the Digital Cedes would be launched in three key stages. He noted that adhering to these phases is essential to maintaining its lead in embracing emerging technologies in Africa.
“With these types of things, you have to go at it in phases, and the first phase was really on the design of the electronic money and the team that has gone quite far in the design phase, they are looking at the implementation phase.” Addison said, adding that the next step will be a pilot phase “where a few people would be able to use the digital cedi on the mobile applications.”
While not unveiling the exact timeline in which the Digital Cedes will be launched, Addison took a jab at such digital currencies as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH). He noted they are too volatile to be able to serve as a perfect currency. The Ghanian pursuit of a CBDC collaborates with Emtech — a digital transformation consortium — to launch a sandbox targeting blockchain, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and financial inclusion.
While no African institutions have launched a CBDC yet, the Central Bank of the Bahamas has launched the world’s first CBDC. Meanwhile, nations like China are in the advanced testing phases wherein the Digital Yuan has now been used for retail payments for the trail.
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