Georgia’s central bank has announced its plans to go ahead with CBDC research amidst increasing interest in digital currencies by central banks worldwide.
The race for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has seen a new entrant in Georgia. The European nation could be a new member of the European Union. Its effects could also be important for its crypto industry, which is why a recent development has created a buzz. In an announcement, the National Bank of Georgia (NGB) has stated its keenness on CBDC research.
The central bank has been participating in multiple CBDC initiatives for some time. Recently, the bank was an observer in Project mBridge of the Bank for International Settlements. It could probably use its experiences in developing the digital lari. The central bank had also stated that the CBDC would have a two-tier design. It would support asset tokenization as well, it claimed.
Varlam Ebanoidze of the NGB had spoken about the digital lari and said, “We are thinking about integration into the European Union and we want to be interoperable with the digital euro, but have monetary freedom.” He had also mentioned agriculture and real estate to have use cases of the digital lari.
Meanwhile, the central bank has listed nine companies that could help its CBDC research. After further deliberations, it will select a single partner for its CBDC project. Upon the partner’s selection, the bank will move to the digital lari’s pilot stage.