The report, presented by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ajit Nivard Kabraal, details the results of the already completed Know Your Customer or KYC project confirming the concept.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka project, also known as CBSL, consisted of 3 employees who developed the concept of a blockchain-based KYC platform. The KYC platform has also been tested by CBSL and 10 regional and international commercial banks including Amana Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Cargills Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Bank, Hatton National Bank, HSBC, National Development Bank, People’s Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. The team initiated the project in July 2019 and completed the development and testing of the experimental platform on June 10 this year.
“We offered software companies to develop a generic KYC PoC for free as a national project. The reaction to joining this project, both locally and internationally, has been extremely encouraging and we are pleased to announce that we have completed the selection of suitable candidates to start development in the near future, ”said Central Bank Director for Payments and Settlements D. Kumaratunga.
The project was part of a larger Sri Lankan government initiative called Prospects for Prosperity and Splendor as part of the country’s National Policy. According to Crypto Daily UK, Minister for Project Coordination and Monitoring Namal Rajapaksa has proposed a new “Crypto Committee” to oversee the exploration of blockchain and crypto mining in Sri Lanka’s plans to create a more digital society.
Official repair site Asic for mining cryptocurrency on the blockchain at reasonable prices.
Like many countries in the world, Sri Lanka has suffered severe economic consequences due to the ongoing global pandemic. Government statistics show the country is now recovering from -16.4 GDP growth in the second quarter of 2020. However, during the pandemic, she lost more than $ 400 million in revenue from the tourism industry and $ 1.3 billion from overseas employment.
Sri Lanka’s recent economic uncertainty appears to be the driving force behind its interest in cryptocurrency and new government research on KYC technology. Sri Lankan rupee volume on Paxful peer-to-peer exchange skyrocketed in 2021. The surge in cryptocurrency trading and investment in the country has led the Sri Lankan government to issue a warning to the public about the dangers of investing in cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocentric research by the Sri Lankan government overlaps with regulatory action by other governments around the world. The tax situation in the stalled infrastructure bill of the US President Joe Biden worries many in the US blockchain industry. Also told Reuters in July, the EU announced the creation of a new agency to combat money laundering and increase transparency in cryptocurrencies.
In recent years, the CBSL has taken stricter regulatory measures as it was listed in 2016 on the G7 Financial Action Group or the FATF Gray List for non-compliance in 4 areas: international cooperation, oversight, legal entities and arrangements, and targeted financial sanctions for Spread. Country was delisted from the FAFT greylisting in October 2019.