The central bank of Georgia has revealed that it is assessing whether to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC). If the bank goes ahead, it will join countries like China, Japan, and many others. The National Bank of Georgia said this week it was considering launching a digital Lari, which it hoped would help the nation benefit from the advantages of CBDCs as outlined by other countries.

CBDC will be developed in line with the technical standards set out by the BIS.

The project, known as Digital GEL, would see that the central bank develop a digital currency in line with the technical standards set out by the Bank for International Settlements, which it is hoped will ultimately allow different international digital currencies to be exchanged interoperably across payment and other systems. The announcement from the central bank is also intended as a call for collaboration, with the bank keen to work with private sector interests in shaping the new system. However, the plans so far do not explicitly mention blockchain as an underlying technology.

Central banks continue to explore CBDCs.

Neighboring countries of Georgia – Turkey and Russia- are already at more advanced stages of developing their central bank digital currencies. Georgia’s announcement brings them in line with several other major central banks across countries. Though much of the progress so far has been made across large economies, including China, which is the leader of the major global economies in developing its digital currency, other smaller economies have been agile in developing and rolling out CBDCs’ less complex economies. The People’s Bank of China has been working on its national digital currency for some time now and has already conducted several successful trials involving digital yuan.