The Bank of Lithuania Starts Race for the First Digital Collector Coin

The Bank of Lithuania is planning to issue a one-of-a-kind digital collector coin already this year, thus set to make a place for themselves in the history of crypto, according to their press release.

The coin is to be made using blockchain or other equivalent technologies, the bank adds, leaving the specifics to be decided in a hackathon: IT professionals and tech companies from all around the world are free to enter in the event in May this year. More information on the hackathon will be available within the first weeks of April.

Marius Jurgilas, Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, said that the bank has been making “intensive preparations” for the issuance of the coin, adding that, “Many challenges are upon us, yet we hope that, having overcome any hurdles that may come our way, we will make our plans a reality before the end of the year.”

The bank has already decided that the coin will be part of its issue of numismatic items in 2018. Those items are not legal tender, instead intended for collectors and enthusiasts, each in some way commemorating important events or figures. Still, these numismatic items may be returned to the bank in return for their nominal value.

Also, the central bank has proven their optimism in regards for crypto earlier this year when they announced their intention to create a blockchain sandbox platform, dubbed LBChain, as part of the bank’s strategic directions in the field of innovation and FinTech.

However, when talking with Cryptonews.com about the possibility for central banks to introduce their own cryptocurrency, Jurgilas said this would be “no small development” and would immediately reduce demand for commercial bank money. “Such a change would have fundamental implications on credit growth, financial intermediation, transmission of monetary policy, and role of (central) banks in general,” he warned in a previous interview.