Ripple to help Bhutan test CBDC
The Royal Bhutan Monetary Authority (RMA) has partnered with fintech company Ripple to pilot test a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Ripple believes XRP Ledger distributed ledger technology and the firm's solution for CBDC based on it have the potential to enable fast and cheap retail, wholesale as well as cross-border payments.
The firm believes that the use of XRP Ledger provides central banks with greater control over CBDC issuance, management and privacy compared to public blockchains.
In addition to privacy, the CBDC solution is also specifically designed to handle the volume of transactions required for a successful retail digital currency. It provides central banks such as the RMA with the security, control and flexibility needed to deploy CBDC without compromising financial stability or monetary policy objectives, the statement said.
Recall that in early 2021, Ripple said it was discussing using XRP Ledger as the basis for CBDC "with various central banks around the world".
In March, the company announced it was testing a private version of its distributed ledger for this purpose.