Ripple, a major cryptocurrency firm, is strengthening its partnership with the Republic of Georgia by working with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) to explore opportunities for digitizing the local economy.
Natia Turnava, the acting governor of the National Bank of Georgia, and Varlam Ebanoidze, head of the bank’s Financial and Supervisory Technology Development Department, recently met with Ripple executive James Wallis to discuss further cooperation in financial technology and digitalization.
The official announcement of the meeting was made by the Georgian central bank on June 8 in a LinkedIn post. During the meeting, Wallis, who holds the position of vice president of central bank engagements at Ripple, introduced Alistair Brown from EPAM Systems, a partner of Ripple, to the Georgian officials.
“It was a pleasure to be back in Tbilisi and to introduce Alistair Brown from our partner EPAM Systems to NBG Acting Governor Natia Turnava,” Wallis stated.
EPAM Systems, based in Newtown, Pennsylvania, specializes in software engineering services, digital platform engineering, and digital product design. The name “EPAM” stands for “Effective Programming for America.”
The discussions between Ripple, EPAM, and the NBG focused on potential avenues for collaboration in digitalizing the Georgian economy. This collaboration builds on the existing partnership between the NBG and Ripple, with Ripple being the technological partner for the NBG’s digital lari pilot CBDC project.
In September 2023, the NBG announced plans to advance research on CBDCs and invited nine companies, including Ripple Labs, to participate in the digital lari project. Ripple Labs was subsequently selected as the official technology partner for the development of digital lari.
Ripple has also been involved in CBDC pilots in countries like Colombia, Bhutan, Pulau, Montenegro, and others, not just Georgia. In late 2023, Ripple reaffirmed its support for global CBDC development in a 23-page white paper, emphasizing the importance of CBDCs in supporting the positive impacts of asset tokenization.
While companies like Ripple are advocating for CBDC development, some critics have raised concerns about potential drawbacks such as privacy issues and government surveillance.