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- Ukraine has signed an agreement with Stellar Lumens Development Foundation to create a national central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- The Ukrainian government also seeks to develop a market infrastructure based on Stellar.
In a press release published today, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation announced a cooperation with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF). The ministry and the SDF have set out to facilitate the development of virtual assets in an ecosystem and create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for Ukraine.
To reach this goal, the Ukrainian institution signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with the Stellar Development Foundation on December 28, 2020. According to the agreement, Ukraine seeks to build a “modern” digital asset in conjunction with a market infrastructure.
In this way, the partners also aim to encourage innovation in the country and improve the country’s position as a financial hub in Eastern Europe. As part of the deal, Stellar Lumens will create a strategy for virtual assets that can be applied in Ukraine. Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for Technology Development Oleksandr Bornyakov said:
The Ministry of Digital Transformation is working on creating the legal environment for the development of virtual assets in Ukraine. We believe our cooperation with the Stellar Development Foundation will contribute to development of the virtual asset industry and its integration into the global financial ecosystem.
Stellar Lumens will have a key role in financial innovation
Bornyakov revealed that the cooperation was created to put Ukraine at the forefront of the development that other countries are doing in terms of digital currencies. In this sense, he said that they have been studying the best method of implementing a CBDC for at least 4 years. The official added:
It demonstrates Ukraine’s movement towards one of major financial trends. At the Ministry, we aspire to ensure our country’s adaptation to technological innovations and competitiveness in the financial market.
The partners will focus on 4 key areas: developing the market for digital assets, support projects related to digital assets, implementing and proposing a regulation for a stablecoin to circulate in Ukraine, and facilitating the creation of the national CBDC. Stellar Development Foundation CEO, Denelle Dixon, commented on the agreement:
We believe digital assets and national digital currencies are one of the most important innovations of our lifetimes and we are excited to play a role in the creation of Ukraine’s digital asset infrastructure.
Dixon believes that Ukraine has made a commitment to build an ecosystem of digital economic innovation through the Ministry of Technological Transformation and added:
We look forward to working with the Ministry and other stakeholders to digitize the hryvnia, to bring Stellar-based tools and services to the people and businesses of Ukraine, and to introduce new partnership opportunities in Ukraine to businesses in the Stellar ecosystem.
