Uzbekistan Launches Government Stablecoin Payment Pilot
BITmarkets Team
Oct 07, 2026
The National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) announced that Humo Digital had been registered as a participant in a special regulatory regime jointly supervised by the agency and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. The initiative will examine the issuance, circulation and redemption of HUMO, a stablecoin designed to maintain a value equivalent to one Uzbek som per token.
Uzbekistan begins testing Som-backed stablecoin payments
According to NAPP, more than 20 merchants are ready to participate in the pilot by accepting HUMO payments for goods and services. The project will also connect the payment-processing systems and blockchain infrastructure of participating banks, allowing regulators and businesses to assess how stablecoin transactions could function within the country's existing financial ecosystem. Asterium, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange, will participate as a project partner.
Regulators to assess security and financial risks
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan said the initial testing phase will last 12 months, while the overall project will be limited to a maximum of three years. During the pilot, regulators will evaluate several areas, including the adequacy and protection of the stablecoin's collateral, cybersecurity, consumer protection measures and anti-money laundering controls.
Authorities will also examine potential risks to financial and price stability as they assess whether the stablecoin could be suitable for broader payment applications.
Pilot builds on Uzbekistan's stablecoin regulatory framework
The launch follows a regulatory framework approved in November 2025, which established a controlled environment for testing stablecoin payments. Under the framework, Uzbekistan outlined plans to allow stablecoin-based payment experiments through a regulatory sandbox while also introducing provisions for tokenized financial instruments, including shares and bonds.
The HUMO pilot represents a further step in the country's efforts to explore blockchain-based financial services within a supervised regulatory environment.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uzbekistan-humo-stablecoin-payment-pilot
