Singapore will conclude its experiment with blockchain technology and its own digital currency this year, before deciding whether to market the trial, the country's regulator told CNBC.

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In 2016, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS, for its acronym in English) announced the "Ubin Project", a blockchain exploration, or distributed ledger technology.

The project is divided into five phases. The first, which analyzed the establishment of a proof-of-concept design to make inter-bank payments using the blockchain technology, was completed in early 2017. The second phase, which ended in October, saw the development of three different models for inter-bank payments using the chain of blocks.

Now, the MAS test is looking to deliver securities, cross-border payments and, finally, use a digital version of the Singapore dollar to make real transactions and buy assets.

"I hope that next year we will finish with all the elements," Sopnendu Mohanty, director of MAS's fintech, told CNBC last October.

Several major banks, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and Credit Suisse, are involved in the project.

Mohanty said that this is a way to "unite the broader ecosystem so that we all learn together".

MAS's fintech boss did not say how the experiment could affect regulation around digital currencies, or whether it would end up in a commercial product. Instead, hope is to show other regulators that experimenting with new technology is positive.

"Do not be afraid to do experiments and not fall into traps of signaling policy changes. Some regulators fear doing experiments because of this enormous external pressure on them. We are trying to boost that culture globally, "Mohanty told CNBC.

Interest in digital currencies such as Bitcoin has increased considerably. Many regulators are studying how to handle the increase in cryptocurrencies. China, for example, has banned cryptocurrency exchanges, while Japan has allowed Bitcoin to be accepted as a payment method.

Several countries are also looking to issue their own digital currency like Singapore.Estonia said it is looking to launch its own cryptocurrency, and China is still on the list.