Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, has announced on Twitter that his country is pursuing the creation of a digital currency together with Ripple. Abazović met in Davos with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Vice President James Wallis.
Wallis is Ripple’s vice president for central bank and CBDC engagements. Apparently, Abazović had something like a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in mind in his announcement, as he claimed in the thread:
“In cooperation with @Ripple and the Central Bank, we launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro.”
However, the exact nature of the future digital currency is unclear, as Montenegro currently lacks its own national currency. The Balkan country has used the euro as its currency since 2002, when the transnational currency was introduced, despite the fact that Montenegro is not part of the eurozone or a member of the European Union (EU). Montenegro applied for EU membership in 2008.
As per the PM of Montenegro, the nation launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro, in cooperation with@Ripple and the Central Bank. https://t.co/osWT3wocPk
— Leonidas (@LeoHadjiloizou) January 29, 2023
According to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, the nation has launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro, in cooperation with @Ripple and the Central Bank.
The Montenegrin government has been trying to gain a foothold in the cryptocurrency industry for months. He has built a reputation for his acceptance of cryptocurrency, and in April he held a panel titled Future Now! attended by Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin. Apparently Buterin obtained Montenegrin citizenship at this time.
The project with Ripple was widely covered by the local media when the announcement was made on January 18, but it took several days for the news to reach the international community.
A Ripple adviser promised new activity in CBDC deals by the company last year, specifically mentioning Bhutan and Palau among “several ongoing pilot projects.”. The company is also a founding member of the Digital Dollar Project and joined the Digital Euro Association in February 2022.
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