Malaysia to Pilot Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits in 2026
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) unveiled plans to launch three blockchain-based pilot initiatives in 2026, focusing on ringgit stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The projects will operate under the central bank's Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH), a regulatory sandbox for testing financial technologies.
Capital A, AirAsia's parent company, will partner with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia on the first pilot—a business-to-business ringgit stablecoin settlement system. Maybank and CIMB, Malaysia's two largest banks, will separately develop tokenized deposit pilots aimed at accelerating payments while maintaining traditional banking safeguards.
The initiatives target wholesale payment use cases, including domestic settlements and cross-border transactions. This MOVE signals Malaysia's strategic embrace of blockchain infrastructure for regulated digital asset and payment solutions.