In the latter half of 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will initiate another pilot project to test the digital hryvnia, involving banks and interested citizens. This was announced by Andriy Podderegin, Director of the Payment Systems and Innovative Development Department of the regulator, in an interview with local media.
Financial institutions will conduct trial deposits of e-hryvnia into clients’ accounts via their applications. In turn, clients will be able to exchange the asset or use it to pay for goods and services.
All payment operations with the digital hryvnia will occur on a unified technological platform, operated by the NBU. The regulator is currently seeking a developer for this infrastructure.
“During testing, we will examine the efficiency of the chosen technological platform and the convenience of using the e-hryvnia for payment operations, its practical advantages, and its impact on the country’s financial stability,” said Podderegin.
The results of the second pilot will determine the feasibility of a large-scale release of the e-hryvnia in Ukraine.
The NBU has been exploring the possibility of launching its own CBDC for several years. In 2017, the National Bank reported the completion of a pilot project for issuing the e-hryvnia.
In 2020, the NBU and blockchain company Distributed Lab presented an MVP of the digital hryvnia system.
On June 30, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada passed the law “On Payment Services,” which includes general principles for issuing CBDC.
In November 2022, the NBU presented the e-hryvnia concept project to market participants in virtual assets and representatives of banks and financial institutions.
Soon after, “Tascombank” published the results of pilot testing for issuing electronic money on the Stellar network.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine previously emphasized the need to accelerate the development of the electronic hryvnia.