The Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) completed the Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token (DESFT) pilot project, which aims to promote trading between SMEs using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoins.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) reported the successful completion of the Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token (DESFT), a pilot project in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The initiative promotes trade between micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) in the two countries.
The project conducted live transactions through the Universal Trusted Credentials SFT protocol developed by Ample FinTech under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The DLT protocol Purpose Bound Money (PBM), developed by the MAS in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and the central banks of Italy and South Korea, was also used for the transactions. The stablecoin xSGD pegged to the Singapore dollar and Ghana’s CBDC eCedi were used for the transactions.
According to Kwame Oppong, Director of FinTech and Innovation Office at the BoG, the main objective of the DESFT project is to support MSMEs in Africa by enabling small businesses to participate in cross-border trading. He noted that the project created a robust information exchange solution based on UTC standards and semi-fungible token technology.
Oppong also said that in the first phase of the pilot project, a DLT system based on SFTs was developed to enable verification of participant credentials such as licenses, certificates, and trade records. In the second phase, the first cross-border transactions were performed, and further development of the project will focus on supply chain finance and payments using multiple digital currencies.
In 2023, the MAS developed a regulatory framework for stablecoins. In 2024, it intends to launch several projects to further explore options for tokenized assets.
