digital currency concept. Other participants will use it to finalize pilot proposals that the monetary authority plans to launch in the first half of this year.
Georgia’s financial authorities are gearing up for digital currency trials
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has announced that potential partners will We plan to release a “Digital Larry” white paper that will enable us to – align our proposals with the testing phase of the project. A pilot version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) was originally scheduled for 2022, but NBG postponed the trial this year.
“We plan to publish the documents in the first half of 2023 and shortly after that we will discuss with the winning partners how long it will take to implement the project,” he explained, deputy governor Papuna Lezhava. Interview with Rustavi 2 TV channel.
Several alternative approaches to testing the digitization of Georgia’s lari have already been approved, officials further clarified. Noting that it has not yet been decided whether the project will continue to materialize, Lezhava said:
Initially, it will be a very limited pilot version. Based on this, the technical characteristics of the “Digital Lari” are evaluated.
“The mission of the NBG is to ensure financial and price stability. The development of digital technology has necessitated the development of a central bank currency and the creation of a digital version of the lari. ‘, Georgia’s monetary policy regulator commented in an earlier statement.
Banks elaborated that the need for CBDCs also stems from the need to better meet the requirements of the digital economy and increase the effectiveness of economic policies. He also emphasized that the government-backed coin has legal tender status in Georgia.
“The digital lari will be a cheaper, safer, and faster means of payment than current cash and non-cash forms of fiat lari. You don’t need to perform any operations on the digital library,” detailed NBG, emphasizing that the new platform will work offline.
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