According to the Bangkok Post, Cambodia has officially launched its central bank digital currency "Bakong." Bakong supports transactions in both U.S. dollars and riel (Cambodia's currency), and is expected to help Cambodians make payments and transfer money between individuals using smartphones. Japanese fintech startup Soramitsu participated in the system's design.
The Central Bank of Cambodia began pilot testing the project in July this year. So far, approximately 20 financial institutions have joined, with dozens more expected to participate. Earlier reports indicated that at the beginning of this year, Cambodia’s central bank announced the launch of Bakong, a blockchain-based national digital currency project, and released the Bakong white paper in June. According to the white paper, the project enables operations between Bakong digital accounts and traditional accounts, records transactions on a distributed ledger, uses a consensus mechanism called "Yet Another Consensus," and completes each transaction within five seconds or less. Meanwhile, the network's throughput ranges between 1,000 and 2,000 TPS.
