Singapore Central Bank Uses Ethereum to Digitalize National Currency

Phase 1 testing ran from November through December 2016. MAS deployed an Ethereum-based blockchain designed to interface with MEPS+, Singapore's existing real-time gross settlement system. This allowed researchers to test transfers operating 24 hours a day, measure how the system would survive if components failed, and evaluate settlement speed. The testing phase ended in March 2017.

Multiple phases will follow. Phase 1 focused on domestic payments. The next stages will tackle securities settlement and international money transfers, the report indicates. MAS and R3 are conducting the work with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Singapore Exchange, and other financial institutions.

The project builds on Canada's Project Jasper, which R3 executed from March through June 2016. That effort involved the Bank of Canada, Payments Canada, and five Canadian banks. The Singapore team adapted the technical architecture and lessons from Jasper for its own initiative.

MAS sees Project Ubin as a path for Singapore to take a leading position in central bank digital currency research. "Singapore may be the first major financial center in Asia to fully explore the benefits of blockchain technology across a broad set of transformative applications," according to the report. The central bank plans to share the prototypes it develops and create opportunities for students and professionals to work on blockchain applications. Hackathons at partner universities could provide that experience.