Uzbekistan Launches Government Bond-Backed HUMO Stablecoin Pilot with 20+ Merchants

Uzbekistan has initiated a sandbox pilot to test payments using a government bond-backed stablecoin pegged to the national som. On Monday, the National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) registered Humo Digital as a participant in the program, which is jointly overseen by NAPP and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. The pilot will examine the issuance, circulation, and redemption of HUMO, with each token pegged 1:1 to the Uzbek som and collateralized by government securities.

More than 20 merchants have signed on to accept HUMO payments for goods and services during the trial. The project will integrate participating banks' payment-processing systems with blockchain infrastructure, with Asterium, a licensed crypto exchange, serving as a key project partner. According to the central bank, the initial trial phase will run for 12 months, while the overall project duration is capped at three years.

Regulators will evaluate several critical factors throughout the pilot, including the adequacy and safeguarding of the token's collateral, cybersecurity measures, consumer protection standards, anti-money laundering controls, and broader risks to financial and price stability. The initiative builds on a regulatory framework approved in November 2025, under which Uzbekistan announced plans to permit stablecoin payment trials alongside provisions for tokenized shares and bonds. The move positions Uzbekistan among a growing number of jurisdictions experimenting with sovereign-linked digital assets as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain-based payments.