QUESTIONS NO 25
NOTICE PAPER 6 OF 2020
FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
Date: For Parliament Sitting on 4 September 2020
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Saktiandi Supaat, MP, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Question:
Q 25. To ask the Prime Minister (a) with the conclusion of Project Ubin, what are the steps towards live adoption of a blockchain-based multi-currency payments network prototype; and (b) how soon can a pilot launch in Singapore be expected.
Answer by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Minister in charge of MAS:
1. Project Ubin is a collaborative industry effort led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, to explore the use of blockchain technology to clear and settle payments and securities more efficiently. The project will help us better understand the technology and its potential benefits. To date, more than 40 financial institutions, FinTechs and technology firms have participated in the project.
2. The findings, technical documentation, and source codes have been published openly, to to encourage commercial applications. One example is JPM-Coin by J.P. Morgan, which was largely developed out of Singapore, by the same team that worked on Project Ubin. Some industry players have also expressed interest in leveraging the project learnings to develop a live commercial offering for multi-currency payments.
3. In due course when the commercial endeavor materialises, the parties will make their announcements and share more about their roll-out plans.
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