Lithuania to Launch CBDC This Month - Intended for Collection Purposes, Not Trade
09.07.2020 - Lithuania might become one of the first countries to issue a CBDC - but there's a catch.
The Bank of Lithuania, or BoL, will launch a pre-sale of its CBDC, dubbed LBCOIN, on July 9, a representative for the central bank told Cointelegraph. The coin itself will be issued and sold on July 23.
While LBCOIN is technically a CBDC based on the NEM blockchain and issued by the central bank of Lithuania, the financial institution prefers to call it "the world's first blockchain-based digital collector coin".
Indeed, LBCOINs will be issued for collectible purposes. This is happening as part of the country's larger research on blockchain and its capabilities, Pavel Lipnevič, LBCOIN project manager, told Cointelegraph.
The BoL intends to sell 24,000 LBCOINs. They will come in packs of six at a cost of 99 euros. Each token will feature a portrait of one of the 20 Lithuanian historical figures who signed the country's declaration of independence in 1918. These individuals are divided into six categories: priests, presidents, diplomats, industrialists, academics, and municipal servants.
Having acquired a token from each of the six categories, collectors will be able to exchange them for a physical silver coin.