Uzbekistan’s central bank launches its own stablecoin HUMO

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has started a three-year pilot to issue a state-backed stablecoin called HUMO, with reserves backed by government securities. For PSPs and other high-risk payment players, the point is straightforward: the token is being tested not just for retail-style payments, but inside banking, processing, and blockchain infrastructure.

1. The pilot will allow the central bank to issue HUMO and let 20 legal entities participating in the tests use it as a means of payment for goods, works, and services in Uzbekistan. The same token is also intended for use in banking, processing, and blockchain infrastructure, which makes this more than a symbolic fintech experiment.
2. According to the regulator, HUMO is meant to speed up commercial settlements while making them more transparent and secure. In other words, the pitch is not “crypto for crypto’s sake,” but a settlement rail with state backing and a defined use case.
3. The HUMO stablecoin operator is Humo Digital, which has received the status of participant in the special legal regime for stable token circulation. The project partner is Asterium, which holds licenses for a crypto depository, a crypto exchange, and a crypto shop.
4. Uzbekistan’s special legal regime allowing limited use of stablecoins for settlements has been in force since January. The HUMO token was announced by the authorities in May last year, when the central bank said it would be integrated into the HUMO payment system, which serves more than 35 million cardholders.
5. For anyone tracking the jurisdiction’s broader crypto plumbing, Uzbekistan also recently opened a special economic zone for miners in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where construction has started on three mining farms and three data centers with a combined cost of $5.11 billion.