Project inthanon and the project DLT scripless bond

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) has the potential to disrupt many financial service domains. Aiming to explore the use of DLT to enhance financial system efficiency and resiliency, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) launched the Project Inthanon and Project DLT scripless bond initiatives in 2018. Project Inthanon is a proof-of-concept for wholesale domestic and cross-border funds transfer using central bank digital currency. The Project DLT scripless bond is an initiative to increase efficiency for the saving bond registration and sales processes. With these two projects, the BOT aims to catalyze an industry-wide effort to innovate digitally by exploring and assessing the potentials and applications of DLT. In addition, the BOT focuses on cultivating people's way of thinking and redesigning work processes to accommodate decentralized settings. In this paper, we discuss the project design, key findings, and future considerations of both projects. In brief, we find that DLT demonstrates promise for enhancing the financial infrastructure by enabling digital value direct transfers among parties, along with immutable record keeping, and programmable automation using smart contracts. However, further explorations of technology capacity, governance arrangement, and regulatory issues are needed as a prerequisite before moving these proofs-of-concept into production.