Ripple collaborates with the National Bank of Georgia to digitize the economy.
A major cryptocurrency company is strengthening its relationship with the Republic of Georgia, seeking ways to digitize the local economy through the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
Acting Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, Natia Turnava, and Head of the Bank's Financial and Regulatory Technology Development Department, Varlam Ibanoize, discussed with Ripple CEO James Wallis to enhance cooperation in financial technology and digitalization.
The Central Bank of Georgia officially announced the meeting in a LinkedIn post on June 8.
At the meeting, Wallis — who serves as vice president of central bank engagement at Ripple — introduced Alistair Brown, a representative of Ripple's partner EPAM Systems, to Georgia officials.
“It was an honor to return to Tbilisi and introduce Alistair Brown from our partner EPAM Systems to NBG Acting Governor Natia Ternava,” said Wallis.
Headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania, EPAM specializes in software engineering services, digital platform engineering and digital product design. The name “EPAM” is an acronym for “Effective Programming for America.”
Collaboration builds on the xistign partnership.
According to an official statement from NBG, the discussion focused on finding ways of cooperation to digitize the economy of Georgia.
The new collaboration builds on the previous partnership between NBG and Ripple, with the latter serving as the technology partner for NBG's pilot CBDC project called Digital Larry.
As previously reported, NBG announced plans to advance CBDC research in September 2023, inviting nine companies – including Ripple Labs – to participate in the Digital Larry project. Subsequently, the financial regulator chose Ripple Labs as its official technology partner to develop the digital wallet.
The Central Bank of Georgia is not the only international central bank to collaborate with Ripple on CBCC development and related integrations. In addition to Georgia, Ripple Labs has participated in CBCC pilots in countries such as Colombia, Bhutan, Pulau, Montenegro and others.
Related: Ripple CEO Says XRP ETF ‘Inevitable' – Deal 2024
In the year By the end of 2023, Ripple has doubled down on crowdfunding for global CBDC development in a 23-page white paper. “CBDCs are needed to support the most important positive effects of asset tokenization, a growing method of converting tangible assets into digital tokens stored on the blockchain,” he wrote.
While companies such as Ripple support the development of CBDCs, some critics are concerned about the drawbacks associated with CBDCs, such as privacy issues and government surveillance.
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