Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov has taken a significant step towards the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), signing legislation that grants legal status to the proposed “digital som.”

The central Asian nation is currently deliberating on whether to proceed with the launch of a CBDC. However, the recent amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic ensure that the digital som will be recognized as legal tender if the central bank decides to move forward with the CBDC initiative.

According to a statement on the president’s website, the purpose of the Constitutional Law is to initiate a pilot project for a prototype of the national digital currency, the “digital som,” and establish a legal framework and status for it. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic will now have the authority to develop and approve regulations for transactions conducted on the digital som platform.

Originally adopted on March 20 by Kyrgyzstan’s supreme council, these provisions are set to pave the way for the testing of the digital som later this year, as reported by local news outlet Trend News Agency. A final decision on the issuance of the CBDC is not expected until next year.

While the concept of CBDCs has sparked debates within the crypto community, several countries such as the U.K., Nigeria, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, along with the European Union, have been making strides towards introducing their own CBDCs. In contrast, countries like the U.S. have shown less enthusiasm for the idea of issuing a CBDC.