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Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic announced on twitter that his country is pursuing a digital currency in conjunction with corrugation. Abazovic met Brad Garlinghouse and James Wallis in Davos.
Wallis is Vice-Chair of Ripple for Central Bank and CBDC Commitments. Abazovic apparently had something like a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in mind in his announcement, as he stated in the thread:
“In cooperation with @Ripple and the Central Bank, we launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro.”
The exact nature of the prospective digital currency is unclear, however, as Montenegro does not currently have a national currency. The country of the Balkans has been using the euro as currency since 2002, the introduction of transnational money, in spite of the fact that Montenegro is neither a member of the euro area nor a member of the European Union (eu). Montenegro requested accession to the European Union in 2008.
As per the PM of Montenegro, the nation launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro, in cooperation with@Ripple and the Central Bank. https://t.co/osWT3wocPk
— Leonidas (@LeoHadjiloizou) January 29, 2023
The government of Montenegro has been fishing for a place in the cryptocurrency business for months. It has developed a reputation for its acceptance of crypto, and it held a panel titled Future Now! April's ethereum co-creator vitalik buterin attended. But Erin would have been a citizen of Montenegro by then.
Related: ECB official urges CBDC development for the good of cryptocurrency and consumers
The project with Ripple was widely covered by local newspapers when the announcement was made on January 18.
A Ripple adviser promised new activity in CBDC deals on the part of the company last year, mentioning Bhutan and Palau specifically among “several pilots in progress.” The company is also a founding member of the Digital Dollar Project and it joined the Digital Euro Association in February 2022.
