BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, October 27. Kyrgyzstan has announced its national cryptocurrency strategy, including the launch of a national stablecoin, KGST, and the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the public sector, Trend reports.
The announcement was made by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder and former CEO of Binance.
KGST will be pegged 1:1 to the Kyrgyz som and has already been registered in the State Register of Digital Assets. It differs from another upcoming stablecoin, USDKG, which will be backed by U.S. dollars and supported by $500 million in gold reserves from the Ministry of Finance. USDKG is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2025.
At the same time, the CBDC, known as the digital som, has received legal recognition and is expected to be tested soon for government payments.
These developments follow an April decision by President Sadyr Japarov to amend the country’s constitution, giving digital currency the status of legal tender once fully implemented by the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan.