Ukraine Electronic Hryvnia Pilot Launched by TASCOMBANK and Bitt on Stellar

BRIDGETOWN AND SAN FRANCISCO — DECEMBER 14, 2021 — Global fintech Bitt and TASCOMBANK, one of Ukraine's oldest commercial banks, have launched a pilot project to issue an electronic hryvnia on Stellar. As part of the pilot, the cross-company team will test the electronic hryvnia on the use cases of programmable payroll for public employees at Diia, an IT solutions enterprise, as well as for peer-to-peer payments and merchant payments.

The project is being implemented under the supervision of the National Bank of Ukraine and with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Oleksandr Bornyakov, noted, "This pilot project will serve as a technological basis for the issuance of electronic money, and is the next key step to advance innovation of payment and financial infrastructure in Ukraine."

The objective of the project is to pilot the issuance of electronic money on an open blockchain with asset-control capabilities for issuers. TASCOMBANK will build and test the regulated electronic hryvnia on Stellar, and it will be deployed on Bitt’s Digital Currency Management System (DCMS). Bitt’s market-proven DCMS encompasses a core monetary transaction network, a secure minting system, and a Digital Currency Operations Manager.

TASCOMBANK Chairman of the Board, Volodymyr Dubey, said, “With the rapidly growing impact of virtual assets on our everyday life and economic landscape, it is essential to utilize the advantages of blockchain technology and new related products as a part of the bank’s long-term market strategy. Cooperation with Bitt to build on Stellar allows us to connect our core banking system with blockchain-based infrastructure, creating an ecosystem that includes a full range of banking products and operations with electronic currency on the Stellar blockchain. Electronic currency paves the way to more sophisticated products in the virtual assets field that we are excited to explore.”

Brian Popelka, CEO of Bitt, stated, “Bitt is excited to work with a leading blockchain network like Stellar to leverage its many benefits, including greater flexibility that aligns with the electronic hryvnia’s specific needs. Bitt’s DCMS will equip TASCOMBANK with all of the technology required to securely mint, store, issue, distribute, and redeem the electronic hryvnia. In a country that has been quick to adopt a variety of digital currency technologies and applications, we see a bright future for the electronic hryvnia and many use cases that will bring value in Ukraine and beyond.”

Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, said, “Stellar is an open network that was designed with asset issuance in mind, and is uniquely suited to assets like the electronic hryvnia. It offers issuers, like TASCOMBANK, a suite of controls that they can configure for their asset control needs while maintaining the interoperability and flexibility of an open ledger. We are excited that TAS and Bitt have chosen the Stellar network for this ground-breaking pilot.”

This regulated electronic hryvnia will be built under the current e-money legislation of Ukraine. The payment services law—which will govern the circulation of electronic money and future issuance of a digital currency under the authority of the National Bank of Ukraine—is anticipated to take effect in 2022.‍

About Bitt‍

With a staff of over 60 highly skilled professionals from all over the world, Bitt is a global financial technology company that provides digital currency solutions to central banks, financial institutions and ecosystem participants worldwide. Bitt is at the forefront of financial innovation, with a specialization in central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The company’s Digital Currency Management System (DCMS) leverages blockchain-based distributed ledger technology to introduce the benefits of the most efficient financial ecosystem to date.‍

About Stellar‍

Stellar is a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network for financial products and services. It is both a cross-currency transaction system and a platform for digital asset issuance, designed to connect the world’s financial infrastructure. Financial institutions worldwide issue assets and settle payments on the Stellar network, which has grown to over 5 million accounts.‍

About Stellar Development Foundation‍

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world’s financial infrastructure. Founded in 2014, the Foundation helps maintain Stellar’s codebase, supports the technical and business communities building on the network, and serves as a voice to regulators and institutions. The Foundation seeks to create equitable access to the global financial system, using the Stellar network to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology.