Today, the Central Bank of Montenegro announced that it has signed an agreement with Ripple. The agreement concerns the development of a strategy and pilot program for a Montenegrin digital currency. This comes in the form of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or a stablecoin. The country has used the euro as its currency since its creation in 2002, despite not being part of the eurozone.
Plans have already been made
“Further details will be announced at the end of the year,” James Wallis, vice president of central banks and CBDCs at RippleX, told Cointelegraph in a written interview. “The project will go through several phases, including identifying the practical application of a national digital currency or stablecoin.”
Wallis indicated that a sandbox phase is planned to launch the future digital currency “under controlled conditions”. […] We will work closely with the central bank to define use cases, key success factors and timeline.” The project will start this month, he added.
a strong foundation
Central Bank of Montenegro governor Radoje Žugić said in a statement that the central bank would cooperate with the government and the academic community. The goal: “Analyze the benefits and risks that CBDCs or national stablecoins can bring in terms of electronic payment availability, security, efficiency, regulatory compliance, and most importantly, protection of end-user rights and privacy.” added: “As a central bank dedicated to following modern national banking trends, the Central Bank of Montenegro actively maintains an efficient financial system.”
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic revealed the upcoming deal between Ripple and the Central Bank of Montenegro. He did so in a tweet from the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Produktivan sastanak is a CEO company @Curling @bgarlinghouse i VP za saradnju sa centralnim bankama #James Wallis. Razgovarali smo or razvoju platne Infrastructure koja bi obezbijedila veću finansijsku dostupnost i inkluziju. Crna Gora otvorena za novuvrijednost en ulaganja. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YdPeWHUTCm
— Dr. Dritan Abazovic (@Dritan Abazovic) January 18, 2023
Meanwhile, Ripple has been promoting its expansion into the CBDC space for months. Wallis said the company has “several CBDC projects underway around the world and is in talks with dozens of central banks around the world.”
Source: Btc Direct

Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.