The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, announced on his Twitter that the government of the country, together with Ripple, is developing a digital currency for the central bank (CBDC). The official has already met with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Vice President James Wallis at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“In cooperation with Ripple and the Central Bank, we launched a pilot project to create the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro,” Abazovich said.
It is not yet known exactly what official status the new virtual coin will have, since Montenegro does not currently have its own national currency. The country uses the euro, despite the fact that it is neither part of the eurozone nor a member of the European Union.
The government of Montenegro has been exploring the possibilities of the crypto industry for several months now, which will help the country's economy. Last April, they even hosted a discussion panel dedicated to digital assets, attended by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. At the same time, Ether's father received Montenegrin citizenship.
Montenegro is not the first country trying to introduce digital assets into domestic circulation. Recall that already this year, the Central Bank of Turkey (TCMB) plans to launch a state cryptocurrency. The digital lira is integrated with the identification system and the FAST payment system.
The development, research and testing of the CBDC will be carried out by the Central Bank in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Scientific and Technical Research Institute of Turkey.