Cambodia has quietly become one of the most intriguing players in Asia’s digital finance transformation. At the center of this evolution is Bakong, a blockchain-based payment system developed by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). Far from being just another fintech experiment, Bakong is reshaping how millions of Cambodians interact with money.
According to the NBC’s latest report, Bakong processed US$ 104.81 billion worth of transactions in 2024—an astonishing figure that equals 330% of Cambodia’s GDP. Adoption has been rapid: while just 642,500 bank accounts are linked to Bakong, the number of digital wallets has surged to 30 million. On the merchant side, more than 4.5 million vendors now accept Bakong through a universal QR code system that unifies multiple payment methods.
Although often mistaken for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Bakong is in fact a tokenised deposit system. Balances are fully backed by commercial bank deposits, meaning the system complements rather than competes with Cambodia’s traditional financial sector. This model helps avoid one of the biggest risks of CBDCs—bank disintermediation—while still delivering the efficiency and inclusivity of blockchain-powered payments.
In a country where both the Cambodian Riel (KHR) and the US dollar circulate widely, Bakong’s support for dual-currency transactions strengthens the central bank’s push to increase domestic currency usage. At the same time, it expands access to financial services for unbanked populations, bringing them into a fast-growing digital economy.
As emerging markets across Asia explore CBDCs and blockchain-based finance, Cambodia’s experience offers a valuable blueprint. By adopting tokenised deposits instead of sovereign-backed digital money, Cambodia shows how regulators can strike a balance between innovation and stability.
For a deeper dive into this transformation, see the original analysis by Sauradeep Bag at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF): Cambodia’s Digital Leap: Blockchain-Based Finance.