Ethereum development firm ConsenSys will be developing a proof-of-concept prototype for Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project.

ConsenSys will be collaborating with Siam Cement Group (SCG) and Digital Ventures (DV), a subsidiary of The Siam Commercial Bank.

ConsenSys joined the project as a technology partner to develop and test a prototype for CBDC. The private-permissioned network on Hyperledger Besu will be designed to meet both the functional and non-functional requirements of a retail CBDC.

Previously HKMA and the BOT had initiated Project Inthanon-LionRock to study the application of CBDC to cross-border payments for which ConsenSys was granted the lead for the second phase of the project.

One of the business cases will test the use of a CBDC to simulate daily commerce, automate payments, and support procurement and financial management system called Procure-to-Pay (B2P) developed by DV.

In the exploration, the CBDC will be tested and issued using ERC20 smart contracts, which is said to be the most adopted token standard worldwide, enabling digital asset issuance and transfers between network participants.

In partnership with Thailand partner Atato, ConsenSys will architect a solution using its Enterprise Ethereum stack, including ​Codefi​ and ​MetaMask​.

“A retail blockchain-based CBDC represents a new technology for the issuance of central bank money, where tokenised central bank money is accessible to the general public, and in this case businesses piloting the solution. ConsenSys is thrilled to be a part of this ambitious project to explore a retail CBDC that will allow financial institutions and merchants throughout Thailand to enhance the speed and security of their daily payments infrastructure,”

stated Charles d’Haussy, Director of Hong Kong at ConsenSys.

It is expected that the Bank of Thailand and its partners will deliver a report after the project’s completion.

Besides BOT, ConsenSys was also selected by Societe Generale – Forge, the digital capital markets platform of the Societe Generale Group, for its CBDC pilot activities.

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash