Uzbekistan’s financial regulators have started a controlled pilot for HUMO, a stable token designed to support payments for goods and services while maintaining a one-to-one value with the Uzbek soum.
The National Agency for Perspective Projects, or NAPP, registered Humo Digital as a participant in a special legal regime with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan’s approval. The project will test issuance, circulation and redemption rather than introduce HUMO as a generally available national payment instrument.
HUMO is to be collateralized with Uzbek government securities. NAPP said more than 20 merchants are prepared to participate in payment testing, while the central bank said the initial implementation period is 12 months. The pilot can be extended under the applicable procedure, but its total duration cannot exceed three years.
The pilot covers payments, redemption and infrastructure
The project’s scope extends beyond token issuance. Regulators said participants will test HUMO for accepting payment for goods, works and services in Uzbekistan, as well as the mechanisms needed to circulate and redeem the token.
A separate workstream will integrate participating banks’ banking and payment-processing infrastructure with blockchain systems so that settlements can be tested. Asterium is the named project partner. NAPP and the central bank describe it as licensed to operate crypto-depository, crypto-exchange and crypto-shop activities.
For payment companies and merchants, the pilot therefore tests an end-to-end operating model: reserve collateral, token issuance, payment acceptance, settlement infrastructure and redemption. The official announcements do not disclose transaction limits, merchant names, fees, the blockchain network, wallet requirements or a public start date for live customer transactions.
Government securities form the planned collateral
Each HUMO token is intended to correspond to one Uzbek soum, with government securities serving as collateral. That structure gives regulators a defined asset base to evaluate, but the stated peg and collateral policy are design features, not evidence that redemption or price stability has already been demonstrated in operation.
The central bank said oversight will cover the adequacy and safeguarding of collateral, transaction transparency, financial and operational risk, information security, cybersecurity, consumer protection and anti-money laundering compliance. It will also monitor whether the project is consistent with monetary-policy objectives and whether it poses risks to financial or price stability.
Those checks are material because a token used at checkout depends not only on its blockchain transfer function but also on custody of backing assets, reliable redemption, operational resilience and clear treatment of failed or disputed payments. The pilot gives regulators a limited environment in which to assess those components before deciding whether the model has broader practical use.
A sandbox test, not a nationwide rollout
The project implements a policy framework that began with a presidential resolution dated November 27, 2025. It is also governed by regulations for the special legal regime for stable-token circulation, jointly approved by NAPP and the central bank and registered by the Ministry of Justice on April 15, 2026.
NAPP’s September 7 announcement says the pilot is under the joint control of the two regulators. The central bank says the controlled regime is intended to test technological and financial solutions, assess practical effectiveness and identify potential risks.
After the pilot, authorities plan to assess the practical applicability of a government-security-backed stable-token model and develop proposals for the regulation of digital financial instruments. The announcements do not commit Uzbekistan to a permanent HUMO rollout, specify whether every prepared merchant has begun transacting, or report any completed payment volume.
What payments firms should watch
The most consequential operational questions remain open. Payment providers will need to know how customers acquire and redeem HUMO, which institutions hold the government securities, how reserves are valued and reconciled, and how bank and blockchain records are coordinated. Merchant settlement timing, refund procedures and consumer recourse will also determine whether the model can function beyond a sandbox.
For now, the verified development is narrower: Uzbekistan has admitted Humo Digital to a regulated pilot and defined a testing program that combines token lifecycle controls with merchant payments and bank-processing integration. Results, scale and any path to wider deployment remain to be established.