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(Kitco News) - The Central Bank of Colombia has announced a new partnership with Ripple and Peersyst to explore blockchain technology use cases and the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Peersyst Technology is a specialized blockchain technology firm with experience developing and implementing solutions based on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in both the public and private sectors.
According to the press release shared with Kitco Crypto, the central bank will be working in conjunction with The Ministry for the Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) to pilot use cases that will “enhance Colombia’s high-value payment system using Ripple’s CBDC Platform, powered by the XRP Ledger (XRPL), an energy-efficient and open-source blockchain.”
“The Banco de la República in Colombia and MinTIC forward-thinking on blockchain innovation will unlock new ways organizations operate in the digital era," said James Wallis, Ripple’s VP of Central Bank Engagements and CBDCs. “By harnessing the power of the CBDC Platform, based upon the XRPL, this project will pave the way for transformative advancements in the utilization of blockchain technology within the public sector.”
This pilot project is the third phase of blockchain experimentation led by MinTIC and will run through the end of 2023 under the guidance of the Directorate of Digital Government.
The goal of phase three is to “educate national and territorial public entities through interactive and collaborative real-world application experiments of how blockchain technology’s unparalleled speed, scalability, and transparency can revolutionize payment systems and data management,” the release said.
Ripple’s CBDC platform provides an end-to-end solution for central banks, and will be utilized in a controlled environment for the experiment to prevent the possibility of compromising public resources.
“Potential efficiencies can be evaluated through the results obtained in the development of a solution with Blockchain technology, which manages to improve and complement the processes in the entities in a safe and efficient way,” said ICT Minister Mauricio Lizcano. “In addition, it will provide a technological solution (Prototype), which will allow simulations of different use cases in the high-value payment system.”
Ripple has become the go-to company for smaller central banks looking to explore blockchain technology and develop a CBDC, and they are currently working with at least 20 central banks around the world on their CBDC plans. In April, the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBGC) signed an agreement with Ripple to develop a strategy and pilot program for the launch of the country’s first CBDC or stablecoin.
“In the case of payments and technology for central banks, Ripple is a benchmark leader in the industry and one of the best allies to apply the potential of its large-value payment system’s technology at Banco de la República,” Ferran Prat, CEO of Peersyst Technology said.
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Ripple partners with the University of Toronto
It’s not just central banks that are working with Ripple, as the firm announced that its University Blockchain Initiative (UBRI) has partnered with the University of Toronto to help the school become an independent XRP Ledger validator.
“I have been following Ripple for a decade, as they have been an early leader in blockchain technology,” said University of Toronto Professor Andreas Veneris. “Hosting an XRP Ledger validator matches our goals in both promoting education around the XRP Ledger being a decentralized blockchain, but also the public’s trust in scholars for their long-standing ethos to advance social wellbeing."
Since its launch five years ago, UBRI has invested more than $2 million in top-tier Canadian universities and colleges to foster innovation and growth in blockchain-based research and education. Other Canadian UBRI partners include the University of Waterloo and Toronto Metropolitan University.
“With Ripple’s support, we aim to understand challenges and opportunities of organizations adopting cryptocurrency as a method of payment including inter/intra jurisdictional transactions,” said Professor Atefeh Mashatan, Director of the Cybersecurity Research Lab, Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. “This is novel and multidisciplinary research at the intersection of technology and Information System Management research.”
UBRI said their aim is to “build an interconnected, global academic consortium for future innovators.”
