Ukraine to use Stellar blockchain for CBDC development

The Ukrainian government will use the Stellar blockchain to develop its central bank digital currency (CBDC)

The Ukrainian government has chosen the Stellar blockchain to develop its central bank digital currency. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine announced yesterday it would be working with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) to develop a virtual assets ecosystem and national digital currency of Ukraine.

The SDF and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to help achieve their aims. The MOU drafts Ukraine’s strategy for its CBDC infrastructure and developing digital assets. It includes various methods of providing support to projects specialising in digital assets, implementing and regulating stablecoin circulation and boosting the CBDC development.

The Digital Transformation and IT Deputy Minister Oleksandr Bornyakov said the National Bank of Ukraine has been looking into the possibility of CBDC implementation since 2017. Hence, their partnership with Stellar will allow Ukraine to develop its virtual currency.

On its part, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is working on creating an enabling legal environment to develop virtual assets in the country, Bornyakov added. When quizzed about Ukraine’s potential to be a cryptocurrency and blockchain development leader in Europe, Bornyakov said his ministry is researching and integrating best practices from countries like Switzerland, the UK, Malta, Liechtenstein and the United States.

Ukraine is a crypto leader in Europe

Ukraine is planning to become one of the best destinations for cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in Europe. The Ministry of Digital Transformation is clamouring for more transparent regulations on digital assets and the blockchain space.

The country’s effort is paying off, and Ukraine is gaining recognition in the cryptocurrency world. In September, Chainalysis published its global ranking on cryptocurrency adoption, and Ukraine took the top spot. It was followed by Russia and Venezuela, with China and the United States further down the list. Ukraine scored high points on measures of on-chain value received and total on-chain retail value.

Stellar blockchain is gaining the recognition of top entities in the world. The SDF’s partnership with the Ukrainian government comes less than a month after Germany’s Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH) announced it would be issuing a Euro stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain.

Stellar Lumen (XLM) is the 13th most valuable cryptocurrency. The Stellar Foundation is committed to creating equal access to the global financial system via open-source and peer-to-peer technology.