Ukraine’s Tascombank Pilots Stellar-based E-hryvnia – Fintech Bitcoin News

Tascombank, one of the oldest banks in Ukraine, has completed pilot testing of a digital currency based on the Stellar network. The bank believes that its electronic money platform represents a financially viable implementation of blockchain technology.

Tascombank conducts tests with new Ukrainian digital currency

Ukraine’s Tascombank has tested the “electronic hryvnia” in the pilot phase of the Stellar network currency project. During the trials, the coin was used in settlements between buyers and sellers, the financial institution announced in its report.

The operations with the new digital asset were carried out in accordance with the current customer loyalty and anti-money laundering procedures, the bank stated in a document quoted by the intelligence agency Forklog.

Tascombank also highlighted that its research showed several benefits of using blockchain, including transparency at all stages of the cycle and between all participants in transactions, increased security and confidentiality of user data, low cost and high capacity.

The electronic money circulation model studied during the pilot is an economically viable business model for the use of blockchain technology, the authors of the report stated that they “consider the pilot project to be successful and promising in terms of product development and implementation”.

The bank added that it plans to continue investigations into the issuance and circulation of blockchain-based electronic money. One of its future research areas is the potential use of such a currency for non-cash payments in retail.

Tascombank also revealed that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) believes that the results of its pilot, launched in late 2021, can be used by commercial and central bank experts for further analysis.

In January 2021, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Kyiv selected the Stellar Development Foundation as a partner to develop the country’s virtual asset ecosystem, including the NBU Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) infrastructure. In November last year, the NBU presented a “draft e-hryvnia concept” to members of the crypto industry, banks and other financial institutions.

Do you think currencies like Tascombank’s electronic hryvnia can be introduced simultaneously with government-issued CBDCs? Share your thoughts on the topic in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from Eastern Europe who likes the Hitchens quote: “Being a writer is who I am, not what I do.” In addition to encryption, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.