The government of Uzbekistan will introduce a special legal regime starting in January 2026 that will allow the use of stablecoins as a means of payment in the country. This initiative will be tested within a regulatory sandbox, with its operational framework and timeline directly overseen by the Central Bank and the National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP).
The project envisions launching pilot initiatives aimed at developing new blockchain-based payment systems. The innovation will go beyond payments; local companies (residents) will be granted the right to issue tokenized shares and bonds, and dedicated platforms will be established for trading these digital assets. Back in September 2025, officials announced plans to test stablecoins, while the Central Bank stated it was considering both a national digital currency (the digital sum) and the issuance of a stablecoin.
Uzbekistan’s rapid progress in this area has drawn the attention of foreign experts, particularly in the Russian financial sector. Leadership at the Moscow Exchange noted that although Russia adopted its digital financial assets law back in 2020 and had the potential to lead the field, countries such as Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan are now taking more agile steps in the digital assets market and have surpassed Russia.
