Dritan Abazović, Montenegro’s Prime Minister, tweeted this month that his country aimed to create a digital currency in a joint effort with the cryptocurrency platform Ripple.
The official held talks with Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s chief executive, and company vice-president James Wallis on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Wallis is also tasked with engaging with central banks and their digital currencies (CBDCs), which Abazović stated would lead to “the first digital currency or stablecoin” for the Balkan nation.
He said in his tweet: “In cooperation with @Ripple and the Central Bank, we launched a pilot project to build the first digital currency or stablecoin for Montenegro.”
Currently, Montenegro uses the Euro after adopting it in 2002, but remains outside of the Eurozone and European Union following its application to join the bloc in 2008.
Despite this, the nation hopes to become a key crypto hub in the near future and has adopted a crypto-friendly position on digital assets.
Crypto Gains Global Acceptance
The news comes as several nations pivot to developing CBDCs in a bid to expand payment method options to citizens.
The British Government began hiring on LinkedIn for a head of digital currency for HM Treasury. The move aims to allow the United Kingdom to compete with the European Union amid growing interest in stablecoins and sovereign tokens.
Other nations, including El Salvador, China, Fiji, and Tonga, among others, have positioned their economies and natural resources to become a major global crypto hub. China has long proposed a digital yuan, or hongbao, to conduct financial transactions across the nation at major shopping centres. The People’s Bank of China manages the sovereign token, along with support from AliPay and WeChat Pay.
