DFC

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched its "HaRBInger 2025 – Innovation for Transformation" hackathon, which features as one of the three focus areas, offline central bank digital currency (CBDC). Participants are invited to design a secure, user-friendly, tamper-resistant, and scalable solution for enabling offline digital rupee transactions. The solution should allow consecutive offline payments without real-time internet or telecom connectivity and ensuring double-spend prevention. It should work on low-cost devices and be agnostic across devices and communication protocols, and work on different form factors. [Source: RBI]

The European Central Bank (ECB) published an assessment of digital euro investment costs for the euro area banking sector, incorporating critical factors overlooked in previous industry studies. The ECB argues that significant cost synergies and mutualization opportunities exist within the payment industry, which could substantially reduce the €18 billion figure estimated by a previous study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). By accounting for external synergies through shared vendors, outsourcing arrangements, and collaborative infrastructures—as well as adjusting for specific digital euro design features—the ECB estimates that actual implementation costs could range from €4-5.77 billion total (€1-1.44 billion annually over four years). This analysis reveals that banking group synergies within Institutional Protection Schemes (IPSs) could achieve 90-98% cost savings, while market synergies for independent banks could yield 25-40% reductions depending on vendor concentration and collaboration history. The report emphasizes that banks already extensively use shared solutions for payment channels and compliance functions, and this model can be leveraged for digital euro implementation, bringing costs closer to the European Commission's original estimate of €2.8-5.4 billion. (PwC Report: https://www.pwc.de/de/finanzdienstleistungen/pwc-digital-euro-cost-study-2025.pdf; IPS:​ https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2022/699511/IPOL_IDA(2022)699511_EN.pdf) [Source: ECB]

How Will Stablecoins Integrate with the Financial System (CIGI) The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) published a paper by Christian Catalini on ho stablecoins might integrate with the financial system. In the most likely scenario—a reformed Bretton Woods framework—he sees fully reserved, well-regulated stablecoins becoming core settlement infrastructure, connecting disparate payment systems and streamlining cross-border transactions for banks, fintechs, and merchants. If the world shifts toward a multipolar arrangement, stablecoins might be expected to thrive within Western financial spheres, driving programmable payments and innovation, while central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) dominate in other blocs, with bitcoin serving as a neutral bridge. In more fragmented or authoritarian scenarios, stablecoins could be relegated to niche roles or co-opted by states for surveillance and control, with CBDCs or state-aligned stablecoins prevailing in domestic flows and bitcoin acting as a hedge against capital restrictions. Ultimately, Catalini foresees an interoperable, layered regime where stablecoins link platform economies and global commerce, CBDCs address domestic policy needs, and permissionless digital assets like bitcoin provide an escape valve, with speed and programmability determining which form will set the standard for future monetary integration.​ [Source: CIGI]