Ripple seeks new economy digitization venues with Georgia

Ripple executives met Georgia’s National Bank Governor Natia Turnava to discuss digitalizing the economy with blockchain.

Ripple appears to be exploring new avenues for collaboration in the digitalization of Georgia‘s economy following a recent meeting between its top executives and officials from the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

Natia Turnava, acting governor of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), accompanied by Varlam Ebanoidze, head of the financial and supervisory technology development department, held a meeting with Ripple’s vice president James Wallis, and Alistair Brown, vice president of EPAM Systems, during their recent visit to Tbilisi.

While specific details of the talks remain undisclosed, a representative from the central bank confirmed that the focus was on “exploring potential avenues for collaboration in the digitalization of the Georgian economy.” Crypto.news reached out to both Ripple and NBG for further comments, and we will update the article if we hear back.

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). Ripple said that the pilot program with NBG aims to test its CBDC technology and assess its practical applications for the public sector, businesses, and retail users. It is unclear if the recent discussions between Ripple and NBG were related to the digital lari initiative.