Payment solution company Ripple will join the Digital Pound Foundation to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for the United Kingdom. The company will become a foundation member and will be represented in its board by their Head of Policy Susan Friedman, according to an official post.
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Created as a non-profit organization with the objective to deploy a digital Pound in the U.K., the Digital Pound Foundation and Ripple will design and develop the CBDC. The post claims the country has been “encouraging responsible innovation” in the crypto industry.
Thus, the implementation of a CBDC is “the logical outgrowths of that work”. Ripple’s Head of Policy commented the following on their newest partnership:
We are excited to support the design and implementation of a digital Pound in partnership with the Digital Pound Foundation. The Foundation will help advance the UK’s goal to build a more inclusive and sustainable financial system.
The payment solution company has been approaching several banking institutions worldwide to work on CBDCs from their design to the policies necessary to implement them, and other technical details.
Back in October, the company revealed a key partnership with the central bank of Bhutan and the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) to test a cross-border payment application for a digital Ngultrum via CBDC.
A digital Pound, as the Digital Pound Foundation envisions, will give the U.K. a new tool to accelerate its economy’s transition to a digital society. In addition, the organization seeks to “ensure” the country’s spot as a leader in the nascent digital space.
Ripple added the following on the role of the Bank of England in the development of a CBDC and its potential to open the country’s economy to the opportunities of digital assets:
The Bank of England is actively working to navigate the practical and technological challenges of designing, implementing and operating a digital Pound that could play an important role in expanding access to central bank money by households and businesses.
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Ripple Leads From The Frontline?
The implementation of CBDCs has become a priority for many countries mainly driven by China’s progress on its own project, the digital Yuan. A cause of concern for countries in the Western Hemisphere, many countries are looking to create a counterbalance by creating turning their own currencies digital.
In addition, Ripple claims the Bank of England has acknowledged the capacities of digital assets to improve its payment system. The company offers solutions, such as Demand Liquidity, based on the token XRP to offer low cost and instant payments with almost no demand for energy consumption. Ripple added:
(…) the Digital Pound Foundation aims to achieve—bringing together a diverse array of members to ensure the UK maintains its globally competitive lead in financial innovation. As more and more central banks implement CBDCs, interoperability, privacy and complete sovereignty will be key to enable central banks to move money cost-effectively (…).
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As of press time, XRP trades $1,17 with a 2.9% loss in the daily chart.