Ripple Collaborates with Colombia’s Central Bank to Explore Blockchain Technology

Ripple, in partnership with Peersyst and Colombia’s central bank Banco de la República, is set to pilot blockchain technology on the XRP ledger. This initiative will be overseen by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) in Colombia. The project will utilize Ripple’s recently launched central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform.

Ripple and @Peersyst are partnering with Colombia’s @BancoRepublica in conjunction with @Ministerio_TIC to pilot use cases that will enhance Colombia’s high-value payment system.

Learn more about the partnership: https://t.co/X9jyJ3pvDa

— Ripple (@Ripple) June 15, 2023

The pilot program is scheduled to run throughout 2023 and aims to demonstrate the practical applications of blockchain technology to the general public. This will be achieved through interactive and collaborative real-world experiments showcasing the exceptional speed, scalability, and transparency offered by blockchain technology in revolutionizing payment systems and data management.

Notably, the XRP ledger CBDC platform has also been adopted for similar pilot projects in Hong Kong, Bhutan, Palau, and Montenegro.

CBDC team making significant progress with the launch of the new #cbdc platform. Four countries now announced. Grateful to the team at @Ripple who are developing the best platform for the future of Digital Currencies. Palau, Bhutan, Montenegro, Hong Kong…

— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) May 19, 2023

Despite facing ongoing legal challenges, Ripple continues to expand its operations. The company is currently embroiled in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit filed against it in 2020. According to the SEC, Ripple allegedly sold $1.3 billion worth of unregistered securities through its XRP token. Ripple maintains that XRP is not a security and claims it was never warned or provided notice by the SEC.

Related: The SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit: Everything you need to know

In addition, Ripple has spent around $200 million on its defense against the lawsuit. The conclusion of the trial remains uncertain, although it is widely believed that the release of the so-called “Hinman documents” could impact the remaining legal proceedings.

The Hinman documents refer to internal communications within the SEC related to a 2018 speech by William Hinman, the former director of the SEC’s corporate finance division. In the speech, Hinman mentioned that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) might initially be considered securities but could later be classified as commodities once they achieve sufficient decentralization.

Internal SEC notes at the time indicated concerns that Hinman’s comments could make it difficult for the agency to alter its position on Ether in the future, despite the speech not directly referencing XRP. Experts argue that this demonstrates the confusion surrounding the SEC’s treatment of cryptocurrencies.