Kyrgyzstan has entered the global digital finance arena by launching $50 million worth of its national stablecoin, USDKG. The coin was officially registered on November 6, placing the country as a pioneer in government-backed digital assets.
USDKG is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar but is fully backed by the country’s physical gold reserves, held under state control. The token release aims to develop the nation’s digital economy.
The Unique USDKG Stablecoin
The Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan, working with the State Service for Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market, described USDKG as the world’s first state-backed, gold-collateralized stablecoin.
The project aims to modernize the country’s financial infrastructure. The government intends to create a transparent and secure digital asset by backing the token with gold. While the coin is dollar-pegged, its intrinsic value is tied to audited national gold reserves.
USDKG’s Role in the Country’s Economy
USDKG’s relevance lies in its potential to strengthen Kyrgyzstan’s financial sovereignty and streamline its remittance sector. Remittances from Kyrgyzstan workers abroad account for around 30% of the country’s GDP, incurring high fees well above global standards.
By introducing a government-backed, dollar-pegged, and gold-secured digital currency, authorities aim to lower transaction costs, increase financial accessibility, and boost cross-border trade. The transparency is expected to attract global interest and investment.
Kyrgyzstan’s Future Plans
The Ministry of Finance has announced plans to list USDKG on both centralized and decentralized exchanges, allowing the token to circulate globally.
Previous announcements indicated that the initial physical gold reserves securing the USDKG could range from $300 million to $500 million, with long-term goals to expand reserves to $2 billion. The government also plans to conduct regular third-party audits to ensure the stablecoin remains fully collateralized.
Kyrgyzstan hopes that a successful execution of this pilot will make the country a regional center for financial innovation in Central Asia.
USDKG is one of several parallel digital finance initiatives underway in Kyrgyzstan. The Ministry of Finance has clarified that the USDKG project is separate from the proposed national stablecoin KGST, which is to be pegged to the national fiat currency, the Kyrgyz som, and from the concept of a digital som, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).