The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are collaborating on the creation of a new cryptocurrency, and have launched a joint pilot crypto, according to Emirati media.

It was unveiled at the first meeting in Abu Dhabi of the Executive Committee of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council as part of seven initiatives that UAE and Saudi Arabia are cooperating on. The other initiatives are not crypto related.

The new jointly developed pilot crypto is “strictly targeted for banks at an experimental phase with the aim of better understanding the implications of blockchain technology and facilitating cross-border payments”, reported Emirates News Agency (Jan 19).  

The crypto functions on a distributed database between the central banks and participating banks from both countries. It aims to vouchsafe customer interests, set technology standards, assess cybersecurity risks, and determine impact on monetary policies.

Cointelegraph had reported in December last year that UAE’s central bank and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority were studying the creation of a jointly accepted cryptocurrency for cross-border transactions between banks on both sides.