An academic report by Professor Daniel Broby of Ulster University has reintroduced discussions around Ripple’s involvement in the development of the digital euro CBDC.
The report, titled “Central Bank Digital Currencies – Lessons from China,” presents a study of China’s digital yuan testing but also includes a comparison of transaction throughput among digital currency systems. This comparison connected Ripple’s private ledger to European CBDC experimentation.
Ulster University Report Suggests Euro CBDC Testing on Ripple Ledger
The paper, recently spotlighted by WrathofKahneman, a notable voice in the XRP community, mentions Ripple’s private ledger as one of the tested platforms for the digital euro by the Bank of France.
Ripple designed the ledger for central bank use cases, and it delivers 1,500 transactions per second, well above public blockchain options like Ethereum 2.0, and competing against Visa’s capabilities.
While the report does not suggest there is official adoption, its inclusion of Ripple’s technology among CBDC test platforms by the Bank of France has brought renewed speculation over Ripple’s potential involvement in the digital euro CBDC project.
For context, the Ulster University report focuses primarily on the e-CNY, China’s retail digital currency. It presents a theory-based analysis of its design, phased rollout, and impact on monetary policy and privacy.
Previous Developments Lead to Unconfirmed Speculation
Yet, in assessing global CBDC efforts, Broby’s included Ripple’s private ledger. This mention arrives amid a series of earlier disclosures and community observations that have hinted at Ripple’s involvement with the European Central Bank’s digital euro project.
In February 2022, the Digital Euro Association (DEA) announced a partnership with Ripple to collaborate on CBDC innovation, focusing on technological design. Also, in March 2023, Ripple’s Head of Digital Currency Product, Anthony Ralphs, contributed to a DEA whitepaper exploring privacy features in CBDC frameworks.
By June 2024, Ripple CBDC advisor Antony Welfare publicly highlighted key components of the digital euro project, including progress on privacy, offline transaction capabilities, and standardized rules.
Progress being made on the #DigitalEuro
"….the results of the technical work conducted in the following areas: privacy, the digital euro’s offline functionality, and the rulebook."
Key Design features of the Digital $EUR:
Online Privacy ✅ "For online digital euro payments,… https://t.co/YHr1pNQyT9
— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) June 24, 2024
Additionally, several posts on X from last year claimed that the Central Bank of France had praised Ripple’s infrastructure. However, critics indicated that these documents originated in 2022.
Ripple’s Confirmed CBDC Involvements
However, despite these signals and indirect acknowledgments, no formal confirmation has been issued by either Ripple or European monetary authorities that Ripple’s technology is officially selected or integrated into the digital euro’s development.
Nonetheless, Ripple’s involvement in other CBDC projects has been clear. In 2021, Bhutan’s Royal Monetary Authority launched a CBDC pilot on Ripple’s private ledger. That same year, Ripple partnered with the government of Palau to explore a USD-backed stablecoin.
More recently, Colombia’s central bank began testing Ripple’s ledger for financial use cases, while in 2023, Ripple announced CBDC pilot collaborations with both the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Central Bank of Montenegro.
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