2023-04-12
On April 11,
2023, the central bank of Montenegro announced that it had signed an
agreement with Ripple to develop a leading digital currency strategy and
project for Montenegrin digital currency, which is a stablecoin issued by the
central bank. Although Montenegro has used the Euro as its currency since 2006,
it is not part of the Eurozone.
"Further
details will be announced later this year. The project will have to go through
several stages, including consideration for the actual use of the national
digital currency or stablecoin," said James Wallis, the deputy head of
RippleX, to Cointelegraph.
Wallis also
said that there are plans to set up a sandbox to define the direction of
digital currency development, with Ripple planning to work together with the
central bank. The project is set to start this month.
Radoje Žugić, the governor of the central bank of Montenegro, said in a statement that the central bank would work with the government and the academic community to "analyze the advantages and risks that may arise from a national CBDC or stablecoin, whether in terms of the readiness of electronic payment methods, security, efficiency, compliance, and most importantly, the protection of the rights and privacy of end-users."
Montenegrin
Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic announced the deal between the central bank and
Ripple on Twitter during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.
Ripple has
been expanding its services to CBDCs in recent months, and many countries'
central banks have begun developing their own digital currencies.
