Ripple's $190k CBDC Interoperability & Financial Inclusion Competition

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Ripple has launched a competition with $190k in cash prizes that aims to encourage the development of solutions for CBDC interoperability and financial inclusion.

Ripple, a San Francisco-based enterprise blockchain provider, has launched a central bank digital currency hackathon with a total prize pool of $197,000 to promote the development of solutions for retail CBDCs and financial inclusion.

Ripple Launches Contest to Develop a Central Bank Digital Currency

The event, dubbed CBDC Innovate, will enable developers to create applications that run on Ripple’s decentralized, open source blockchain, the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Contestants are required to build or update a fintech or payment solution in one out of three categories. The first category focuses on interoperability, and developers are expected to submit a solution that allows CBDC to work with other digital assets such as non-fungible tokens and stablecoins.

The second category focuses on retail-facing, and contestants are expected to build an interface that allows users to interact with a CBDC. The last category covers financial inclusion, and developers are to submit a solution that can leverage the advantages of such a digital currency.

The hackathon website says that competitors have to submit their solutions on or before August 25, 2022, and the winners will be announced on September 8. Developers from all regions except Brazil, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Quebec, Russia and Syria are welcome to join in.

Ripple Continues to Pursue CBDC Innovation

Ripple continues to invest heavily in CBDC solutions as more countries consider launching such products. The company has a dedicated platform based on the XRP Ledger technology that allows central banks to mint, manage, transact, and destroy CBDCs.

Ripple has partnered with a number of countries and banks to experiment with CBDC solutions. In September 2021, it teamed up with Bhutan to pilot the country's CBDC. The collaboration enabled Bhutan to run its digital currency on Ripple's CBDC platform for retail, cross-border, and wholesale transactions.

In November, the company partnered with the Republic of Palau to develop strategies for the country's first digital currency.

Ripple and the Digital Euro Association (DEA) have been exchanging information and sharing technical expertise on CBDCs since earlier this year.

Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has said that the firm will exit the United States if the SEC wins its case against XRP.

The San Francisco-based blockchain company plans to leave the United States if it loses its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As reported previously, the regulator alleged that Ripple raised $1.3 billion by selling unregistered securities through XRP sales. 

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, believes that the case could be resolved before the end of 2019.

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