During a recent meeting in Tbilisi, executives from Ripple met with officials from Georgia’s National Bank to discuss the digitalization of the economy using blockchain technology. The meeting included Natia Turnava, acting governor of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Varlam Ebanoidze, head of the financial and supervisory technology development department, James Wallis, vice president of Ripple, and Alistair Brown, vice president of EPAM Systems.
While specific details of the discussion were not disclosed, a representative from the central bank confirmed that the focus was on exploring potential collaborations for digitalizing the Georgian economy. Both Ripple and NBG were contacted for further comments, and this article will be updated with any additional information provided in response.
In late 2023, NBG announced Ripple as its official technology partner for the development of the digital lari, Georgia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The pilot program with NBG aims to test Ripple’s CBDC technology and evaluate its practical applications for the public sector, businesses, and retail users. It is unclear if the recent discussions between Ripple and NBG were connected to the digital lari initiative.