The Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token (DESFT) Project, a collaboration between the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has successfully completed a proof-of-concept, according to local reports. The project aims to facilitate trade between micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in both countries.
As part of the project, real transactions were conducted using the Universal Trusted Credentials semi-fungible token protocol, which was developed by the United Nations Development Program. Ample FinTech, a Singapore-based company, identified itself as the developer of the DESFT and stated that the token contained verified licenses, certificates, and trade records.
To facilitate the exchange, a stablecoin pegged to the Singapore dollar (XSGD) and the BOG’s e-cedi central bank digital currency (CBDC) were used within a Purpose Bound Money protocol on a distributed ledger.
The Purpose Bound Money protocol was developed by MAS in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, as well as the central banks of Italy and South Korea. It incorporates both programmable money and programmable payment technology, and has been tested by Amazon and other international retailers.
At the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Kwame Oppong, the director of fintech and innovation at the Bank of Ghana, described the project and highlighted its focus on supply chain finance and cross-border payments using multiple digital currencies.
Limited information about the semi-fungible token technology was available in the press, but Ample FinTech mentioned that it operates on the ERC-3525 standard on the Ethereum blockchain.
The e-cedi is currently in its pilot phase, and no official launch date for the CBDC has been announced.
In other news, a panel discussion scheduled for the Singapore Fintech Festival in November will delve further into the Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token, exploring its combination of NFTs and traditional blockchain information to enable the tokenization of self-ownership through the DESFT.
For more information on Bitcoin in Senegal, and the reasons behind the country’s adoption of BTC, please refer to the related article.