The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) has signed an agreement with crypto and blockchain solutions provider Ripple develop a digital currency strategy and pilot. The Central Bank of Montenegro and Ripple will launch Montenegro’s first digital currency in the form of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or national stablecoin.

Aligning with the CBCG’s core objectives, the digital currency’s introduction is another step forward to digitising financial services and fostering a world of greater financial accessibility for Montenegro’s citizens. Countries around the world share interest in CBDCs A CBDC is a digitised version of the currency issued by central banks. As per the press release, over a hundred countries are exploring and developing a CBDC for many use cases including widening financial inclusion, modernising monetary policy, improving payment security, and increasing cross-border payments efficiency.

Simultaneously, the European Central Bank is working to develop the digital euro concept as a future means of safe, secure, and practical electronic payment in the euro area. CBCG’s officials said that as a central bank committed to following up-to-date national banking trends, the CBCG is actively ensuring it maintains an efficient financial system. They look forward to collaborating with Ripple on the pilot project for creating CBDC or stablecoin.

The approach of the project Through the project, the CBCG will work with the Government of Montenegro and Montenegro’s academia to create a practical digital currency or secure currency solution to test the main blockchain technology’s functionality and potential. It will also analyse the advantages and risks that CBDCs or national stablecoins could pose concerning electronic means of payment availability, security, efficiency, compliance with regulations, and most importantly, the protection of end users’ rights and privacy. The project will go through several stages, including identifying the practical application of a digital currency or national stablecoin and the design to simulate its circulation and use under controlled conditions.

Executives from Ripple stated that the Central Bank of Montenegro is bringing the next level of digital transformation to its financial infrastructure and addressing some of the world’s biggest financial challenges, including financial inclusion. Ripple has a proven track record of connecting disparate payment systems and championing blockchain’s utility to issue Central Bank Digital Currencies and solve for global payments to hundreds of financial institutions around the world. What does Ripple do? Ripple is a crypto solutions company that transforms how the world moves, manages, and tokenizes value.

Ripple’s business solutions are faster, more transparent, and more cost effective - solving inefficiencies that have long defined the status quo. And together with partners and the larger developer community, It identifies use cases where crypto technology will inspire new business models and create opportunity for more people. With every solution, the company is realising a more sustainable global economy, increasing access to inclusive and scalable financial systems while leveraging carbon neutral blockchain technology and a green digital asset, XRP.

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