PROJECT UBIN – A BOLD INITIATIVE TO DEVELOP THE TOKENISED VERSION OF THE SINGAPORE DOLLAR
The Project Ubin is the name given to the project involving the development of the tokenised version of the Singapore Dollar (SGD) on an Ethereum-based blockchain.
The birth of this bold initiative by the Singapore’s central bank stemmed out of a concerted effort to create an effective alternative for Singapore’s interbank payments network using tokenisation and blockchain technology. Although many other countries are already in the blockchain movement, Project Ubin would mark the first tokenised fiat currency and the first block-chain interbank payments system ultimately setting a new milestone in the Blockchain Technology.
According to some reports the project which was started in November 2016 successfully completed its first phase developing a proof-of-concept replacement of the MAS Electronic Payments System (MEPS+) – the Singaporean equivalent of the Clearing House Interbank Payment System (CHIPS) of the United States, that deals in the settlement of if interbank debts.
It is important to note that other countries central bank have experimented with tokenisation which includes the Central Bank of Russia, People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Bank of England.
A major development or project worthy of note is the Project Jasper launched by the Bank of Canada in partnership with R3 and several major banks to develop a Blockchain-based competitor to the country’s current interbank payments solution known as the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS). However the project came to an abrupt end when it was declared by the Bank of Canada that blockchain-based solution is not a viable substitute for the country’s interbank payment solution.
Another similar scheme is an Ethereum-based blockchain solution to process online payments and perform customer verification currently under testing by the Central Bank of Russia. The Government of Russia (the native country of Vitalik Buterin the co-creator of Ethereum) has announced plans to encourage efforts to advance blockchain technology. Also, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) began testing in February a prototype crypto-currency they began developing since 2014
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Great article