The Ukrainian Central Bank Is Expanding Its Blockchain Team

The National Bank of Ukraine is expanding the team working to move the country's national currency, the hyrvnia, to a blockchain.

Revealed in an email to CoinDesk, the number of people added and who they are is being kept private for now, but the expansion shows a level of intent that hasn't been seen at many other central banks.

"Today, we've reinforced our team with world-class professionals and are optimistic that the project will get a boost in upcoming months," wrote Yakiv Smolii, acting governor of the central bank.

While the details of the team were not made public, CoinDesk last week reported that Ukraine-based Distributed Lab is helping with the build.

Distributed Lab's founder, Pavel Kravchenko, confirmed that the startup is at least partly "responsible for [the] architecture, blockchain research and development and security analysis" of the institution's initiative.

Central banks across the globe have been discussing and exploring blockchain technology for its ability to more efficiently track funds and reduce the expenses of commercial banks. For instance, the People's Bank of China has deemed the creation of a fiat-based cryptocurrency a "crucial" financial development.

But still, the National Bank of Ukraine gave a more detailed vision of its undertaking to create a "national digital currency," that makes its work less theoretical than others.

According to Smolii: