Ripple (XRP) Partners with National Bank of Georgia to Digitize Economy

Last Updated on June 11, 2024 by SPN Editor

Ripple (XRP) is expanding its collaboration with the Republic of Georgia by exploring potential avenues to digitize the local economy in partnership with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

The acting governor of the NBG, Natia Turnava, and Varlam Ebanoidze, the head of the bank’s financial and supervisory technology development department, recently met with James Wallis, Ripple’s vice president of central bank engagements. The meeting aimed to strengthen cooperation in financial technology and digitalization.

The Georgian central bank confirmed the meeting in a LinkedIn post on June 8. During the meeting, Wallis introduced the Georgian officials to Alistair Brown, a representative from EPAM Systems, a partner of Ripple.

EPAM, based in Newtown, Pennsylvania, is known for its expertise in software engineering services, digital platform engineering, and digital product design. The acronym “EPAM” stands for “Effective Programming for America.”

According to the NBG’s official statement, the discussion centered on potential collaboration opportunities to digitize the Georgian economy. This new collaboration builds upon the existing partnership between the NBG and Ripple, where Ripple (XRP) serves as the technological partner for the NBG’s pilot Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, known as the digital lari.

The NBG had previously announced plans in September 2023 to advance CBDC research and invited nine companies, including Ripple Labs, to participate in the digital lari project. Ripple Labs was later chosen as the official technology partner for developing the digital lari.

Ripple’s involvement in global CBDC initiatives extends beyond Georgia. The company has also participated in CBDC pilots in countries such as Colombia, Bhutan, Palau, and Montenegro.

Market Trends of Ripple (XRP)

As of the latest data, the price of Ripple (XRP) is approximately $0.496, reflecting a 0.46% change over the past 24 hours and a year-to-date decrease of 19.08%. The recent price action has positioned XRP’s market capitalization at $27.51 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $715.2 million. Historically, XRP’s price surged dramatically by more than 51,000%, rising from under one cent to $3.40 between March 22, 2017, and January 8, 2018. Over the past 32 months, 32 billion XRP tokens have been released from escrow, with 26.7 billion returned, leaving 46.5 billion XRP tokens in escrow as of January 2022.

In late 2023, Ripple reaffirmed its public support for global CBDC development in a comprehensive 23-page white paper. The company stated, “CBDCs are needed to support the most significant positive impacts of asset tokenization, an increasingly targeted mechanism for transforming tangible assets into digital tokens stored on the blockchain.”

While firms like Ripple (XRP) are championing the development of CBDCs, critics have raised concerns about potential drawbacks related to privacy issues and government surveillance.