Republic of Palau Joins Hands With Ripple to Develop Digital Currency Strategy

The fintech company will explore the country’s first digital currency strategy and its use case.

Nov 24, 2021 at 8:50 a.m. UTC

Updated Nov 24, 2021 at 3:55 p.m. UTC

Parikshit Mishra is the news editor for CoinDesk during the mid Asia and early European hours. He does not have any crypto holdings.

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Global payments company Ripple has partnered with the island country Republic of Palau to develop strategies for a digital currency.

“The partnership will initially focus on developing strategies for cross-border payments and a USD-backed digital currency for Palau,” the fintech company announced on Tuesday.
This could lead to the implementation of the the world’s first government-backed stablecoin in the first half of next year. Ripple would provide the country with technical, business, design and policy support.
A U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin could provide countries like Palau a viable alternative to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Ripple said.
“As part of our commitment to lead in financial innovation and technologies, we are delighted to partner with Ripple,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said.
“The first phase of the partnership will focus on a cross-border payments strategy and exploring options to create a national digital currency, providing the citizens of Palau with greater financial access,” the president said.

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