The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has recently named Ripple Labs, among eight other contenders, as potential tech collaborators for its impending Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project, named “Digital GEL”.
On September 28, 2023, NBG released an official statement expressing its plan to launch a “Limited Access Live Pilot Environment”. This is intended to explore the technical viability and potential uses of a CBDC system. The bank’s current stance shows a “technologically agnostic” viewpoint, indicating a willingness to explore diverse tech foundations for the Digital GEL endeavor.
The shortlisted entities are:
- AUGENTIC GmbH
- Bitt Inc.
- Broxus Holdings Ltd.
- Currency Network Ltd.
- DCM Corp Limited
- eCurrency Mint Inc.
- FARI Solutions Ltd.
- Ripple Labs, Inc.
- Sovereign Wallet Co., Ltd.
Each firm has demonstrated notable technological prowess, experience, and a keen interest in collaborating with the NBG on this venture. At this point, NBG remains technologically neutral, evaluating various technological solutions for the Digital GEL project offered by the shortlisted firms. Once the selection process concludes, NBG will select a sole technology partner to proceed to the pilot phase, where the CBDC platform will be tested in a time-limited live setting and its practical applications assessed.
