Status : Pilot
Usecase : Wholesale
The Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the private sector in South Africa launched Project Khokha in 2018 to research the impacts of distributed ledger technology (DLT) on faster payments and broader financial architecture. In March 2019, the SARB invited bids from private companies to develop CBDC infrastructure. In February 2021, the IFWG announced the launch of Project Khokha 2, exploring use of the blockchain at the wholesale level in South Africa through a proof of concept. The final report of Project Khokha 2 was released in April 2022, and it pointed to further exploration with industry partners and cross-border collaborations. In May 2021, the SARB announced a feasibility study on the use of digital currencies at the retail level that is expected to conclude in 2022. The study is designed to investigate the use of an electronic legal tender complement to cash, though the Bank has not yet decided to issue a retail CBDC.
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