Stellar XLM’s development arm will work with the Ukrainian government on several digital asset initiatives.
The Stellar Development Foundation has signed an agreement with the
Ukrainian government to facilitate the creation of a digital asset
ecosystem, including a framework for a central bank digital currency, or
CBDC.
Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation announced
Monday that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Stellar Development Foundation. The MOU outlines Ukraine's strategy for
developing virtual assets and CBDC infrastructure. This includes
providing support to projects specializing in digital assets,
implementing and regulating stablecoin circulation and promoting the
development of a CBDC.
A press release from the Stellar Development Foundation on Monday confirmed that the agreement was signed on Dec. 28.
Oleksandr
Bornyakov, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Digital
Transformation, told Cointelegraph that facilitating a national
cryptocurrency doesn't mean that Stellar will develop the Ukrainian
CBDC. Rather, the Stellar partnership is expected to "enable quality
decision-making regarding development of the virtual assets ecosystem in
Ukraine."
When asked about Ukraine's potential to lead
cryptocurrency and blockchain development in Europe and the world,
Bornyakov said his ministry is integrating best practices from
Switzerland, United Kingdom, Malta, Liechtenstein and the United
States.
He elaborated:
"Crypto companies,
blockchain startups and financial institutions — all of them seek a
legally protected environment for conducting business. And the Ministry
of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is working on building a legal
framework that will offer a transparent and stable regulatory
environment for blockchain and crypto companies."
Bornyakov said that the National Bank of Ukraine has been researching CBDCs since 2017. Ukraine, like many other countries, is exploring the utility of a CBDC, as well as its potential impact on everything from monetary policy to financial stability and up to consumer adoption.
There have been some rumblings that Ukraine is prepared to lead Eastern Europe’s crypto race, with the Ministry of Digital Transformation pushing for clearer regulations on digital assets.
In September, Chainanalysis gave Ukraine the top spot
in its global ranking on cryptocurrency adoption. Ukraine scored
especially high on measures of on-chain value received and total
on-chain retail value.
Stellar's XLM is currently ranked 13th in
global market cap for all cryptocurrencies. The Stellar Foundation's
core principles include creating more equitable access to the global
financial system via open-source, peer-to-peer technology.
source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/ukraine-taps-stellar-to-develop-digital-asset-infrastructure-including-cbdc-framework
