Ripple joins the development of the digital lari

The National Bank of Georgia has chosen the Ripple Labs Inc. blockchain platform as its official technology partner for the development of the digital lari. 

Today, we announce a partnership with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) on the Digital Lari (GEL) pilot project. The pilot will leverage Ripple’s award-winning #CBDC Platform to evaluate practical use cases & benefits for the public sector & businesses.?? https://t.co/rtE3zxlAkm

— Ripple (@Ripple) November 2, 2023

According to the company’s statement, the partnership will encompass the implementation and deployment of a pilot initiative for the digital lari via the Ripple CBDC platform. With its help, the National Bank will assess potential use cases for the new asset and its benefits for the state, businesses, and ordinary users.

In September, the regulator announced its intention to promote the CBDC project by implementing a pilot environment with limited access. To this end, it conducted a selection of a technology partner from among nine companies, including Augentic GmbH, Bitt Inc., Broxus Holdings Ltd., Currency Network Ltd., DCM Corp Limited and others.

Following the evaluation of the applications, the selection committee chose Ripple Labs, citing a deep understanding of the project’s goals and its potential applications.

Back in May 2021, the National Bank of Georgia announced plans to issue the digital lari. The regulator at that time urged cooperation among technology and fintech companies and interested financial institutions.