Ukrainian TASCOMBANK Will Test Digital Currency on Stellar Blockchain

The Ukrainian commercial bank TASCOMBANK is working with the FinTech Bitt to issue an electronic hryvnia — the country’s national currency — on the Stellar network.

The bank announced the pilot program Tuesday (Dec. 14), saying it would involve a test of the electronic currency at the payroll for employees of an IT company called Diia, as well as for peer-to-peer and merchant payments.

“This pilot project will serve as a technological basis for the issuance of electronic money, and is the next key step to advance innovation of payment and financial infrastructure in Ukraine,” said the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Oleksandr Bornyakov.

His ministry is supporting the project, which is overseen by the National Bank of the Ukraine. The objective is to issue electronic money on an open blockchain with asset-control capabilities for issuers.

Read more: New Ukraine Legislation Lists CBDC As Cash Equivalent

Earlier this year, Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation that determined central bank digital currency (CBDC) was functionally the same as cash or other payment tools. The law mentions the future CBDC as the “yet-to-be-launched electronic hryvnia.”

TASCOMBANK says the electronic hryvnia will be constructed according to the Ukraine’s eMoney legislation. The country’s payment services law, which will cover the circulation of electronic money and issuance of a digital currency under the authority of the National Bank of Ukraine, is set to go into effect next year.

TASCOMBANK will build and test the electronic hryvnia on Stellar, deploying it using Bitt’s Digital Currency Management System.

“With the rapidly growing impact of virtual assets on our everyday life and economic landscape, it is essential to utilize the advantages of blockchain technology and new related products as a part of the bank’s long-term market strategy,” said TASCOMBANK Board Chairman Volodymyr Dubey. “Electronic currency paves the way to more sophisticated products in the virtual assets field that we are excited to explore.”