Will the World Central Bank Digital Currency be based on the XRP Ledger?

• Ripple has been exploring the CBDC space following the launch of its CBDC private ledger last year.
• The blockchain firm is also a supporting partner of Europe’s think digital Euro association.

Ripple would likely share various good news regarding its central bank digital currency initiatives, according to insights provided by Anthony Welfare (Ripple’s CBDC adviser).

Top crypto influencer, Sentosumasaba, tweeted on Tuesday that Ripple is discussing with several countries regarding the launch of their national digital currencies, including Bhutan and Palau. Welfare (Ripple’s Senior Adviser on CBDC Europe and global partnerships) responded to Sentosumasaba’s tweets suggesting that the blockchain firm is set to announce more CBDC collaborations in the next few weeks.

“Ripple has several pilots in the progress for CBDCs, including the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan and the Republic of Palau.” – @AntonyWelfare

Several: More than two and fewer than many. 😉 In progress.https://t.co/VqLGkhgOFh pic.twitter.com/DbdiXVwtOl

— ☀🌸Crypto Eri 207k Followers (beware of imposters) (@sentosumosaba) September 6, 2022

Since Ripple launched the private version of its XRP Ledger in 2021, it has been increasingly active in developing various CBDC programs. Last week, the United States launched the think tank digital dollar project and named Ripple among the initial participants of this “technical sandbox program.” Earlier this year, Ripple, the European think tank digital euro association, also included Ripple as one of its supporting partners.

One of the responsibilities of these partners is to promote the growth and development of the digital euro and CBDCs. Last year September, Ripple Labs and Bhutan’s monetary authority partnered to launch a CBDC in the south-central Asia country. Ripple would be responsible for issuing and managing Bhutan’s digital Ngultrum to enhance cross-border payments.

In November 2021, the blockchain form also collaborated with the republic of Palau to assist the pacific island in developing a climate-friendly digital currency. However, the announcement states that Palau’s digital currency would have characteristics similar to a USD-supported stablecoin than a CBDC.

The blockchain firm held “the Ripple CBDC innovate,” its first online CBDC hackathon, three months ago. About 483 persons participated in the competition, building CBDC-related apps for various purposes. Some of these apps were to enhance the interoperability between CBDCs and cryptocurrencies. Thus, it becomes easier for CBDCs to be used for retail transactions.

Others were to enable the unbanked population to have easy access to banking services. The CBDC innovate website states that the first set of finalists list will be available by September 8, 2022. Those on this list would move to the next phase of the competition.

The next steps in the Ripple-SEC lawsuit

On Thursday, Lawyer James K. Filan provided updates via Twitter on the Ripple-SEC lawsuit. He said there are still several disputes in the lawsuit that is in the process of being briefed. Some of those he mentioned are the expert reports and deposition transcripts and the sealing of the motions to exclude expert testimony (“Daubert” challenges).

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Scheduling Update as of September 6, 2022. pic.twitter.com/GzY6KPATJU

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 111k (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) September 6, 2022

Ripple is currently waiting for Judge Torres to decide on the matter. Filan predicts that the SEC would likely file a motion for certification of interlocutory appeal in case the regulator loses the attorney-client privilege to keep the William Hinman testimonial private.