CBDC

Brazil, CBDC

The president of Brazil’s central bank said a digital real is likely coming in 2022. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Roberto Campos Neto told editor Erik Schatzker that a…

BoE’s Andrew Bailey: “reinventing the wheel with more automation”

September 3, 2020

automation, Bank of England, CBDC

Excerpts from speech by Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England at Brookings Institution, Virtual Event, 3 September 2020 Innovation is a good thing. As authorities and regulators it…

Korea central bank seeks partner for CBDC pilot

September 1, 2020

Bank of Korea, CBDC

The Bank of Korea is seeking a consulting partner for its Central Bank Digital Currency Pilot System. The pilot is expected to produce a CBDC business process and system architecture,…

BIS: rise of the central bank digital currencies

August 25, 2020

BIS, CBDC, Central Banks

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are in the limelight. But the reasons for issuing them vary between countries, as do the policy approaches and technical designs. This paper looks at…

IMF: privacy provision, payment latency and the role of collateral

August 17, 2020

News and Notes

CBDC, collateral, IMF, stablecoin, tokenization

The new boundary between publicly and privately provided payments systems and the role of collateral may be changing. Recent technological developments have made it feasible for markets and policymakers to…

Fed updates on CBDC research and experimentation, Boston Fed-MIT project underway

August 13, 2020

CBDC, Fed, Federal Reserve of Boston

The Federal Reserve highlighted the research and experimentation undertaken to enhance its understanding of the opportunities and risks associated with central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The initiatives complement a broad…

Firsthand lessons from central bank digital currency and CSD distributed ledger projects

Over the last several years I worked on innovative Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) projects in Europe and Canada with a focus on building new infrastructure for Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs).…

Euroclear, HSBC, SocGen among firms selected by Banque de France for CBDC experiments

July 23, 2020

Banque de France, CBDC

The French central bank announced that eight firms have been selected to experiment with the use of central bank digital currency for interbank settlements: Accenture, Euroclear, HSBC, Iznes, LiquidShare, ProsperUS,…

SocGen and Banque de France test €40 million tokenized issuance

May 25, 2020

Banque de France, blockchain, CBDC, Societe Generale, tokenization

SFH, Societe Generale’s covered bond vehicle, issued €40 million of covered bonds as security tokens directly registered on a public blockchain. Rated Aaa by Moody’s and AAA by Fitch, these…

ECB’s Mersch on CBDC task force priorities: wholesale is BAU while retail is game-changer

May 11, 2020

CBDC, ECB, wholesale CBDC, Yves Mersch

A recent survey among 66 central banks by the Bank for International Settlements shows that more than 80% are working on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the European Central…

Media reports: ICBC releases blockchain whitepaper, spotlights China’s CBDC

April 22, 2020

blockchain, CBDC, China, ICBC, institutional crypto

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest lender by assets, has released a white paper on blockchain technology applications in finance, titled, “Blockchain Financial Application Development White…

BIS researchers consider payment behavioral change under Covid-19, retail CBDC in spotlight

April 3, 2020

BIS, CBDC, coronavirus, Payments

Irrespective of whether concerns are justified or not, perceptions that cash could spread pathogens may change payment behaviour by users and firms. Looking ahead, developments could speed up the shift…

Banque de France recruits for CBDC interbank settlements experiment

March 29, 2020

Banque de France, CBDC, settlement, wholesale CBDC

France’s central bank is calling for applications to experiment with a central bank digital currency for interbank settlements. The aim is to explore the potentialities offered by this technology, and…

Bank of England calls for comments on conceptual “platform” model for CBDC

March 16, 2020

Bank of England, CBDC

A Bank of England paper considers the question: as the issuer of the safest and most trusted form of money in the economy, should the central bank innovate to provide…

Finextra: ING economist says CBDC could disrupt USD as reserve currency

March 7, 2020

CBDC, ING

The US dollar’s position as the unrivaled global currency means it has the most at stake should central banks begin to issue their own digital currencies, according to ING economist…

Bank of Canada: “not yet” time for CBDC

February 26, 2020

Bank of Canada, CBDC, Project Jasper

Canadians are well-served by the existing payment ecosystem, so the Bank of Canada does not believe there is a need to issue its own digital currency at this time. But…

Sweden Riksbank in first for CBDC pilot, simulation testing of e-krona

February 22, 2020

blockchain, CBDC, Central Banks, DLT, Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden

The Riksbank is conducting a pilot project with Accenture to develop a technical solution for an e-krona that can work as a complement to cash. The aim of the project…

FT: patents reveal extent of China’s digital currency plans

February 13, 2020

CBDC, China

The People’s Bank of China has filed more than 80 patents related to its secretive plans to launch a digital currency, according to new research that shows the extent of…

Fed’s Brainard considers US central bank digital currency

February 6, 2020

CBDC, Federal Reserve, Lael Brainard

Digitalization is enabling consumers and businesses to transfer value instantaneously, technology platforms to scale up rapidly in payments, and new digital currencies to facilitate these payments. By transforming payments, digitalization…

OMFIF: central banks in pole position to issue digital currency

February 5, 2020

CBDC, Central Banks, OMFIF

Digital payments are proliferating worldwide and are proving increasingly popular. In China, the mobile payments market is worth $5.7 trillion and is dominated by two behemoths, Alipay and WeChat Pay.…

WEF releases CBDC toolkit for policymakers

January 28, 2020

CBDC, WEF

The World Economic Forum’s Central Bank Digital Currency Policymaker Toolkit seeks to address the need for a concise, high‑level CBDC decision framework that provides comprehensive and risk‑aware information to policymakers, and…

BIS follow up survey shows EM momentum for CBDC

January 24, 2020

BIS, CBDC, Emerging Markets

A Bank for International Settlements survey shows that central banks are undertaking extensive work on central bank digital currencies. Globally, emerging market economies are moving from conceptual research to intensive…

Central banks to assess potential cases for digital currencies

January 21, 2020

Bank for International Settlements, Bank of Canada, Bank of England, CBDC, ECB, Sveriges Riksbank, Swiss National Bank

The central banks of Canada, UK, Japan, Europe, Sweden and Switzerland, together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), have created a group to share experiences as they assess the…

ECB exploring anonymity in central bank digital currencies

December 19, 2019

CBDC, data privacy, ECB

Under the coordination of the ECB, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) has established a proof of concept for anonymity in digital cash, aka central bank digital currency (CBDC),…

Fed’s Brainard updates on stablecoins, CBDC and challenges ahead

December 19, 2019

Uncategorized

CBDC, Federal Reserve, Lael Brainard, stablecoins

The emergence of cryptocurrencies — and particularly stablecoins — has raised important questions for central banks and other authorities, including on the appropriate regulatory framework. In the United States, the…

Fed reply to US Congress inquiry on CBDC

November 22, 2019

CBDC, Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, US Congress

Fed chair Jerome Powell replied to an inquiry from congressman French Hill outlining the central bank’s strategy on central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Powell wrote that the Fed is monitoring…

How Fnality is advancing wholesale blockchain settlement (Premium)

November 20, 2019

Blockchain, Settlements

blockchain, CBDC, DLT, Fnality, topstory, utility settlement coin

Finadium has been following the evolution of UBS’ utility settlement coin (USC) as it shifts from consortium to company. We speak with Olaf Ransome, chief commercial officer at Fnality, about…

Institutional crypto weekly roundup

October 30, 2019

Bakkt, bitcoin futures, blockchain, Canada, CBDC, China, crypto regulation, IBM, ICO, OMFIF, Ontario Securities Commission, retail, Thailand, TokenGX

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets participants and regulators are engaging with digital assets. Credit Suisse, SocGen to use Paxos blockchain settlement for US equities Paxos Trust…

Institutional crypto weekly roundup

October 13, 2019

News and Notes – Fintech, Uncategorized

Bank of France, bitcoin, CBDC, CFTC, crypto assets, crypto regulation, ether, stablecoins

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets participants and regulators are engaging with digital assets. Bank of France’s Beau on the emergence of crypto assets in payments and…

DLT and suptech are priority projects for Switzerland’s central bank innovation hub

October 9, 2019

BIS, CBDC, DLT, innovation, SIX, suptech, Swiss National Bank, Switzerland

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have signed an operational agreement on the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Switzerland which will identify and develop…

Institutional crypto weekly roundup

October 8, 2019

bitcoin, blockchain, CBDC, clearing house, crypto regulation, cryptocurrencies, DLT, DTCC, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, GSR Capital, KeyTango, MPC, options, Securities and Exchange Commission, Trade Information Warehouse

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets participants and regulators are engaging with digital assets. The Block: crypto clearinghouse places trades without collecting collateral in decentralization push KeyTango,…

Institutional crypto weekly roundup

September 6, 2019

News and Notes – Fintech, Uncategorized

BIS, CBDC, cryptocurrencies, NYDFS, Paxos, security tokens, stablecoins, Swiss National Bank

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. Swiss central bank chair says digital tokens have yet to prove advantages over existing…

Institutional crypto weekly roundup

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. The Finanser: fear and loathing in financial blockchain development Most of the uses of…

Capital markets blockchain weekly roundup

August 15, 2019

Barclays, blockchain, CBDC, Coinbase, digitization, exchanges, fintech, PBOC

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. CoinDesk: Barclays ends banking relationship with crypto exchange Coinbase Barclays is no longer working…

Capital markets blockchain weekly roundup

August 1, 2019

AWS, blockchain, CBDC, crypto assets, crypto regulation, FCA, MAS, Project Ubin, settlement, SGX

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. Crypto fund Incrementum’s report compares Libra v XRP in global currency competition Corporations like…

Capital markets blockchain weekly roundup

July 22, 2019

Bakkt, Binance, bitcoin futures, CBDC, China, crypto custody, crypto exchanges, crypto fund, FINRA, ICE, institutional crypto, PBOC, regulatory reporting

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. FINRA issues notice for digital asset reporting FINRA reminded members to keep the regulator…

Capital markets blockchain weekly roundup

July 16, 2019

Bank of Japan, CBDC, crypto regulations, Securities and Exchange Commission, tZERO

Our weekly list of announcements about how capital markets and regulators are engaging with digital assets. NY authority licenses Seed CX for institutional crypto services The New York State Department…

What crypto spring means for institutional investors (Premium)

May 7, 2019

Blockchain, Technology

Bakkt, CBDC, crypto custody, Demelza Hays, Fidelity Digital Assets, ICO, incrementum, STO

Since we spoke to fund Incrementum last quarter, crypto winter has followed the seasons into a crypto spring, as bitcoin lifted some 70+% since its low in December at $3,125.…

WEF: how are central banks exploring blockchain tech?

April 4, 2019

CBDC, WEF

According to a January 2019 report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), at least 40 central banks around the world are currently, or soon will be, researching and experimenting…

Bahama central bank updates on CBDC project “Sand Dollar”

March 22, 2019

Bahamas, blockchain, CBDC, Central Banks

Inclusive of a digital version of the Bahamian dollar, the Central Bank of The Bahamas has defined several evolved objectives for the Bahamian payments systems. On some levels The Bahamas…

Eastern Caribbean central bank conducting digital currency pilot

March 7, 2019

Bitt, blockchain, CBDC, ECCU, Medici Ventures, Overstock

Medici Venture announced its portfolio company Bitt is using blockchain technology to conduct a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union’s (ECCU) member countries. The…

St. Louis Fed: central bank e-money addresses banking sector competition

January 22, 2019

CBDC, Digital Token, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Should a central bank take over the provision of e-money, a circulable electronic liability? We discuss how e-money technology changes the tradeoff between public and private provision, and the tradeoff…

BIS survey shows 2 central banks may issue crypto soon

January 9, 2019

Bank for International Settlements, CBDC

The hypothetical benefits and risks of central bank digital currencies are being widely discussed. This survey from the Bank for International Settlements adds to these discussions by taking stock of how…

Project Syndicate: cryptocurrencies are a bet on dystopian future

December 11, 2018

CBDC, Central Bank Digital Currencies, cryptocurrencies, Ken Rogoff

The right way to think about cryptocurrency coins is as lottery tickets that pay off in a dystopian future where they are used in rogue and failed states, or perhaps…

What 21 central banks think about developing digital currencies

November 16, 2018

blockchain, CBDC, Central Banks