Laos’s central bank started testing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) prototype on February 7, with the support of Japanese fintech firm Soramitsu and the Japanese government.

The Bank of the Lao PDR will test the Digital Lao Kip, or DLak, using a blockchain-based system developed by Soramitsu.

The central bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the company to kickstart the proof-of-concept trial on February 6, according to a statement issued by Soramitsu.

The trial follows the