The National Bank of Ukraine is considering the possibility of introducing its own digital currency for retail use — e-hryvnia. A pilot project is currently being prepared, which should help determine its feasibility. About this reported Oleksiy Shaban, head of the NBU.
As Shaban points out, e-hryvnia will not replace cash or bank accounts, but will only become an additional tool available for use at will. However, the final decision on the large-scale issuance of the digital currency has not yet been made.
The pilot project will be based on DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) technology and will take place in an open environment with real users and payment service providers. This will make it possible to assess the extent to which the e-hryvnia can perform the functions of money, meet the needs of users, and demonstrate the effectiveness of programmed capabilities.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Payment Services”, e-hryvnia is an electronic form of national currency issued by the National Bank. This is the digital equivalent of the ordinary hryvnia, which is also an obligation of the central bank.
If implemented, the e-hryvnia will become a legal means of payment, will exist exclusively in cashless form and will complement traditional monetary means. It will perform all the functions of money and will be available to all categories of users, allowing to carry out any payment transactions in Ukraine.
