The National Bank of Georgia, the country's central bank, has chosen Ripple among a number of candidates to develop a CBDC pilot using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) technology.
The company Ripple, which is behind the issuance of XRP, has been the winner in a selection process in which a series of technology companies participated, to compete for the opportunity to collaborate with the central bank in the development of the Digital Lari project ( GEL), with which it seeks to create a digital version, or a CBDC currency, of the Georgian lari.
Natia Turnava, acting governor of the National Bank of Georgia, stated that the bank will make use of Ripple's deep knowledge as one of the leading networks in cross-border payments, to promote its CBDC project.
“The committee selected Ripple due to its technical excellence and the experience of its team”, the central bank indicated in a release issued this week.
Turnava recognized Ripple as one of the most prepared technology companies it could choose from the blockchain industry to explore the potential, advantages and risks of CBDCs, in order to accelerate the entry of its central bank into the new digital era.
Currently, Ripple is participating in five CBDC pilot projects together with the governments and central banks of different countries around the world, Turnava emphasized.
Georgia CBDC pilot phase begins
Georgia National Bank will begin the pilot phase of the lari CBDC by leveraging the power of Ripple's platform and infrastructure.
According to James Wallis, vice president of central bank engagements at Ripple, this pilot will pave the way for the Georgian bank to deeply explore the advantages offered by blockchain technology, which will allow it to achieve “transformative advances in the use of the chain of blocks within the public and private sectors.”
The Digital Lari pilot is focused on evaluating the use cases and applications of a retail CBDC and measuring the potential benefits of this digital currency for the public sector, businesses and retail users.
On the other hand, Ripple highlighted that its CBDC technology is powered by the XRP Ledger (XRPL), allowing the Georgia bank to explore a digital currency in an energy-efficient way.
At the end of May of this year, Ripple presented its Ripple CBDC platform for the development and issuance of central bank currencies and stablecoins, highlighting the growing interest of banking and financial entities in exploring the benefits that these types of currencies can offer for accelerate inclusion, facilitate operations and optimize cross-border payments.
Recently, Ripple appointed Lauren Belive, former director of Softbank, as head of public policy with the aim of strengthening its regulatory strategy and continuing to promote the use and adoption of blockchain technology and digital payments around the world.
Continue reading: Ripple appoints former Softbank director Lauren Belive as head of public policy
