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Kyrgyz parliament approves draft CBDC law
Kyrgyz parliament approves draft CBDC law
The Constitutional Law, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Issues, and Parliamentary Regulations Committee of the Kyrgyz Parliament has reportedly approved the draft law on the status of the digital som – in its first reading. It is designed to launch a pilot project for a prototype digital som and to establish its legal framework and status. Testing of the prototype is scheduled to begin in early 2025, and a final decision on the launch of the digital som is planned for the end of 2026.
#Fintech#CBDC#Kazakhstan#DFC
·en.trend.az·
Kyrgyz parliament approves draft CBDC law
RBF says no to digital Fiji dollar
RBF says no to digital Fiji dollar
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has reportedly ruled out issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for Fiji, and is instead focusing on modernizing its existing national payment system. In the meantime, the RBF will continue to keep a tab on how other central banks progress on CBDC as well monitor international new developments that may influence Fiji’s payment system.
#CBDC#Fintech#Fiji#DFC
·fijitimes.com.fj·
RBF says no to digital Fiji dollar
Hong Kong Government publishes Stablecoins Bill (John Ho)
Hong Kong Government publishes Stablecoins Bill (John Ho)
The Hong Kong Government has published in the Gazette the Stablecoins Bill, which seeks to put in place a regulatory regime for issuers of fiat-referenced stablecoins (FRS) in Hong Kong. The Bill aims to enhance the regulatory framework for virtual asset activities (VAs), by addressing the potential financial stability risks posed by FRS, ensuring adequate user protection, and harnessing the potential benefits of VAs and their underlying technologies. https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/english/gazette/file.php?year=2024&vol=28&no=49&extra=0&type=3&number=31
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#Regulation#HongKong#DFC
·linkedin.com·
Hong Kong Government publishes Stablecoins Bill (John Ho)
NY regulator approves Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin
NY regulator approves Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin
Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse reported that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved the firm’s RLUSD stablecoin. Testing of RLUSD, which will be "complementary and additive" to Ripple's XRP, began on the XRP ledger and Ethereum mainnets in August 2024. https://x.com/bgarlinghouse/status/1866571228464460215
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Ripple#XRP#Stablecoins#Regulation#UnitedStates#RLUSD#DFC
·cointelegraph.com·
NY regulator approves Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin
Kiwis say privacy is crucial in Digital Cash
Kiwis say privacy is crucial in Digital Cash
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published the results of a public consultation on New Zealanders’ views on a Kiwi central bank digital currency (CBDC). The vast majority of respondents expressed concern about the potential for government control, privacy, traceability, and autonomy. Many feared Digital Cash will be used to facilitate unacceptable intrusion into their privacy or social control, even if it is not originally designed to do so. In that regard, they want assurance that physical cash will still be issued by the RBNZ. In response, RBNZ said that it remains committed to a privacy-centric design for Digital Cash subject to financial integrity considerations.
#Fintech#CBDC#Privacy#NewZealand#DFC
·rbnz.govt.nz·
Kiwis say privacy is crucial in Digital Cash
Enhancing the Privacy of a Digital Pound
Enhancing the Privacy of a Digital Pound
The Bank of England (BoE) published a joint report with MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) on how privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) could be used to enhance the privacy of a potential digital pound. The paper focused on pseudonymization, zero-knowledge proofs, and secure multiparty computing. It found that these technologies present opportunities for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be at least as private as current forms of digital money and potentially even more private as they mature. While PETs, on their own, do not guarantee privacy, the approaches explored in this paper seek to safeguard consumers’ private information, enable compliance with existing regulations, and strengthen trust and confidence in a digital pound, should one be launched in the future.
#Privacy#CBDC#UnitedKingdom#Fintech#DFC
·dci.mit.edu·
Enhancing the Privacy of a Digital Pound
Central bank money as a catalyst for fungibility: the case of stablecoins
Central bank money as a catalyst for fungibility: the case of stablecoins
A paper co-written by a European Central Bank (ECB) staffer suggests required fungibility conditions for reserve asset-backed stablecoins issued by different issuers on different platforms. These include interoperable payment and settlement technologies, payment settlement finality, and seamless stablecoin convertibility into the quasi-ultimate means of payment (e.g., central bank money). Also, issuers should have sufficiently strong liquidity and capital positions to meet redemption obligations, including to cover potential variations in liquid off-chain asset price volatility.
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#DFC
·papers.ssrn.com·
Central bank money as a catalyst for fungibility: the case of stablecoins
Embedding cross-border transaction policy compliance with Project Mandala
Embedding cross-border transaction policy compliance with Project Mandala
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and its central bank partners demonstrated that regulatory compliance can be embedded in cross-border transaction protocols. Project Mandala, which has reached proof-of-concept stage, aims to automate compliance procedures, enhance transparency of country-specific policies and provide real-time reporting and monitoring for regulators and supervisors. This architecture integrates a peer-to-peer messaging system, rules engine and proof engine. It ensures that all necessary compliance checks have been completed before the payment instruction is initiated, after which the system automatically generates a compliance proof, which accompanies any digital settlement asset or payment instructions across borders.
#Fintech#CrossBorder#CBDC#BIS#FinancialStability#FinancialIntegrity#CFM#DFC
·bis.org·
Embedding cross-border transaction policy compliance with Project Mandala
A Quantitative Analysis of the Holding Limit for a Digital Euro
A Quantitative Analysis of the Holding Limit for a Digital Euro
A paper co-written by a Deutsche Bundesbank staffer conducts a quantitative analysis to calculate a potential digital euro holding limit. It draws on a detailed dataset including individual bank level as well as aggregated banking group data for the entire euro area. It uses data and a simulation approach on the number of accounts in individual institutions and on account balance distribution. To assess the De impact on banks, the analysis is conducted for two different points in time reflecting different monetary policy environments with accommodative and restrictive stance. The effects of the CBDC are considered in three holding limit scenarios. The calculations reveal a lower bound holding limit of around 1,000 euro that almost all banks can handle. The results show a strong heterogeneity between the various euro area banks, as many could offer significantly higher limits. For the implementation of holding limits, the paper therefore proposes a model that has a low mandatory limit which every institution must offer, while providers can decide for themselves whether they like to offer a higher limit depending on their individual situation and customer base, subject to an approval process.
#CBDC#Fintech#Eurozone#FinancialStability#DFC
·papers.ssrn.com·
A Quantitative Analysis of the Holding Limit for a Digital Euro
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas completes Project Agila WCBDC testing
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas completes Project Agila WCBDC testing
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and participating financial institutions (FIs) have completed proof-of-concept work on Project Agila. Agila allow FIs to transfer funds to each other even during off-business hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). The evaluation with FIs covered functional, performance, security, exploratory, end-to-end and programmability testing.
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#PaymentSystems#Philippines#DFC
·bsp.gov.ph·
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas completes Project Agila WCBDC testing
CBDCs, banknotes and bank deposits: the financial stability nexus
CBDCs, banknotes and bank deposits: the financial stability nexus
Banco de España published a paper that explores the financial stability nexus within a monetary ecosystem that has been expanded to include a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It highlights the importance of partially adapting the two-tier system of money by implementing certain limits, as envisaged in CBDC plans. The endogenous mitigation of the risks through improved bank competition often attributed to CBDCs is uncertain and may be insufficient from a systemic risk perspective. The introduction of exogenous mitigants, like CBDC holding limits calibrated on the basis of a robust methodology, seems instrumental to ensure the consistency of a monetary ecosystem that includes a CBDC. Hence, the paper addresses some fundamental methodological issues related to these limits, such as the rationale for alternative targets for the limits, the influence of disintermediation speed, the time horizons involved in the limitation and adaptation process, and the role of regulatory and market frictions.
#CBDC#FinancialStability#Fintech#Spain#DFC
·bde.es·
CBDCs, banknotes and bank deposits: the financial stability nexus
CBDCs and fast payment systems: rivals or partners?
CBDCs and fast payment systems: rivals or partners?
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that analyzes how retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and fast payment systems (FPSs) compare with each other and why some jurisdictions have opted for a retail CBDC, while others have chosen to introduce an FPS or both. Interviews with central banks in 14 jurisdictions around the world show that some see a case for both to fulfil different policy goals and complement one another. The paper's key conclusion is that the choice between a retail CBDC or an FPS, or both, is very contextual and will depend on the market features, ecosystem and degree of maturity and innovation of existing payment infrastructures in a country.
#Fintech#CBDC#FastPayments#BIS#WorldBank#DFC
·bis.org·
CBDCs and fast payment systems: rivals or partners?
Goldman Sachs, Clearstream, HQLAᵡ in live DLT intraday repo transaction
Goldman Sachs, Clearstream, HQLAᵡ in live DLT intraday repo transaction
As part of the ECB wholesale DLT settlement trials using central bank money, HQLAᵡ was involved in an intraday repo transaction where Goldman Sachs borrowed cash from Clearstream in exchange for collateral held on the HQLAᵡ DLT platform. HQLAᵡ is a collateral mobility solution in which assets held by custodians are locked and digitized in the HQLAᵡ digital collateral registry, with the legal agreements enabling collateral to transfer instantly using DLT. In this case, the cash leg of the transaction used the Bundesbank’s Trigger solution. The trades were agreed via the Eurex Repo F7 trading system, and Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream D7 digital securities platform was used as the market system operator.
#Fintech#CBDC#Eurozone#ECB#DLT#wCBDC#Tokenization#DFC
·ledgerinsights.com·
Goldman Sachs, Clearstream, HQLAᵡ in live DLT intraday repo transaction
Eurosystem completes tests using DLT for central bank money settlement
Eurosystem completes tests using DLT for central bank money settlement
The European Central Bank (ECB) concluded its tests of the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for wholesale settlement in central bank money. Between May and November 2024, the Eurosystem processed over 200 transactions and a total value of €1.59 billion. In total, 64 participants comprising central banks, financial market participants and DLT operators completed over 40 trials and experiments. Trials included actual settlement in central bank money, while experiments were tests with mock settlement. In January 2025, participants involved in the exploratory work will be invited to discuss lessons learned from the trials and experiments. The outcome of the analysis will inform the Eurosystem’s decision on its next steps.
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#Eurozone#Settlement#Tokenization#ECB#DLT#DFC
·ecb.europa.eu·
Eurosystem completes tests using DLT for central bank money settlement
CBDCs will make FX transactions less risky
CBDCs will make FX transactions less risky
The foreign exchange market is subject to significant credit and settlement risks. While there are risk mitigation mechanisms, about one third of foreign exchange settlements are estimated to take place without them. Ousmène Mandeng writes that the adoption of central bank and other digital currencies can give rise to an entirely new settlement approach, collapsing the foreign exchange life cycle and freeing transactions from credit and settlement risks.
#Fintech#CBDC#Settlement Risk#CrossBorder#DFC
·blogs.lse.ac.uk·
CBDCs will make FX transactions less risky
The real story behind the death of Meta’s Libra: A “political kill”?
The real story behind the death of Meta’s Libra: A “political kill”?

David Marcus, the former head of Diem (formerly Libra) at Meta, posted the chain of events that led to the death of the Diem blockchain-based payment network that was announced in 2019. According to his timeline, after two years of negotiations with regulators, they got to the cusp of approval by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) of a limited rollout. However, the Fed got “cold feet” about the project, allegedly on warnings from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that it would be “political suicide” to approve it. Shortly thereafter, letters went out from U.S. government authorities to all the regulated Diem’s partners to expect a high level of scrutiny on all payment activities. At that point, partners started to dropped their support and Diem eventually folded in 2022. Marcus’s statements come after allegations of tech founders being debanked as part of the U.S. authorities’ “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”. https://decrypt.co/293947/operation-chokepoint-2-0-crypto-founders-silenced-by-secret-debanking

#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#Facebook#Libra#Regulation#Diem#UnitedStates#DFC
·x.com·
The real story behind the death of Meta’s Libra: A “political kill”?
Second progress report on the digital euro preparation phase
Second progress report on the digital euro preparation phase
The European Central Bank (ECB) published its 2nd progress report on the preparation phase of a digital euro, which was launched on November 1, 2023. Since the publication of the 1st progress report, the ECB has updated its digital euro scheme rulebook, aimed at harmonizing digital euro payments across the euro area. Also, the ECB has concluded a call for applications for selecting potential providers of digital euro components and related services, and started user research and experimentation activities, to gather insights into users’ preferences and to inform design decision-making. In addition, along with with key stakeholders, the ECB will be exploring innovative use cases for the digital euro, including conditional payments. In parallel, the ECB is working with Eurosystem national central banks and other competent authorities to develop a methodology for setting digital euro holding limits.
#Fintech#CBDC#Eurozone#ECB#DFC
·ecb.europa.eu·
Second progress report on the digital euro preparation phase
Kima Network executes purchase of tokenized stock with digital shekel
Kima Network executes purchase of tokenized stock with digital shekel
[October 31, 2024] During the Digital Shekel Challenge that concluded in October 2024, Kima, an asset-agnostic, peer-to-peer money transfer and payment protocol, successfully facilitated the transfer of a tokenized stock via digital shekel, demonstrating a successful use case of its cross-ecosystem interoperable delivery-vs-payment (DvP) solution. To demonstrate the utility of its transfer protocol, Kima built an imaginary trading platform called PeerTrade which facilitated an atomic swap of the tokenized share. Kima’s secure decentralized settlement layer orchestrated the transaction instead of an intermediary, directly linking the buyer interested in purchasing the stock using her digital shekels with the seller, who held a tokenized share in their wallet to receive the payment into their bank account in the form of regular shekels. https://www.boi.org.il/en/communication-and-publications/press-releases/the-bank-of-israel-held-a-concluding-conference-for-the-digital-shekel-challenge-today-and-announced-the-winners-of-the-challenge/
#Fintech#CBDC#Israel#Hackathon#DFC
·pr.reblonde.com·
Kima Network executes purchase of tokenized stock with digital shekel
The digital shekel challenge - la finale
The digital shekel challenge - la finale
[October 31, 2024] The Bank of Israel (BOI) concluded its Digital Shekel Challenge with presentations by the 14 entities selected to develop innovative use cases for the digital shekel. The use cases presented demonstrated the potential of the digital shekel to help create advanced payment solutions and lead innovation in Israel's payment system. First place was awarded to Siara for a platform for returning debtors to an economic growth path, second went to Paypal for a smart payroll payments system, third to IDEMIA for an offline payments solution, and the "People's Choice" to QEDIT for a platform that enhances trust for digital transactions using advanced cryptography.
#Fintech#CBDC#Israel#Hackathon#DFC
·boi.org.il·
The digital shekel challenge - la finale
Can the Digital Euro be made attractive to all key stakeholders?
Can the Digital Euro be made attractive to all key stakeholders?
Michael Salmony posted a paper that explores the challenges and opportunities related to the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with a particular focus on the Digital Euro. It critically addresses the often unclear problems CBDCs are intended to solve, and emphasizes the necessity of motivating key stakeholders, especially commercial banks, consumers, and merchants, to support and use them. It argues that simply mandating adoption is insufficient for success; instead, intrinsic motivation and clear business cases for each stakeholder group are essential. Additionally, the article proposes that an offline CBDC, resembling a modern form of cash, might offer a viable path forward, providing benefits such as increased financial inclusion and enhanced privacy. https://payments-innovation.com/
#CBDC#Eurozone#Fintech#DFC
·researchgate.net·
Can the Digital Euro be made attractive to all key stakeholders?
Future of payments 2024: Many Paths, One Goal
Future of payments 2024: Many Paths, One Goal
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Digital Monetary Institute (DMI) published its annual Future of Payments report, based on a survey of 34 central banks, 13 from advanced and 21 from emerging market economies. It found that platforms based on multi-currency central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are emerging as alternatives to existing cross-border payments systems, with Project mBridge being the most advanced, although liquidity issues and governance concerns still pose limitations for widespread adoption. CBDC interoperability will be a key consideration for global payments going forward, with a hub-and-spoke model being favored by survey respondents. Standardization (e.g., migrating to ISO 20022 standards) is helping to reduce the costs and frictions in cross-border payments, but implementation is patchy. However, instant payments systems are rapidly growing in importance, with 47% of survey respondents selecting it as the most promising avenue for improving cross-border payments.
#Fintech#CrossBorder#CBDC#FastPayments#DFC
·omfif.org·
Future of payments 2024: Many Paths, One Goal
Call for candidates to contribute to the digital euro brand rules
Call for candidates to contribute to the digital euro brand rules
The European Central Bank (ECB) is inviting leading experts in branding and communication with advanced knowledge of payments and digital money to contribute to the brand rules workstream. This workstream is the part of the Rulebook Development Group that is to develop a proposal for brand rules that participants in the digital euro scheme, i.e. supervised payment service providers (PSPs), will adopt for their end-user solutions. This excludes brand strategy, expression and the visual identity of the digital euro.
#Fintech#CBDC#Eurozone#ECB#DFC
·ecb.europa.eu·
Call for candidates to contribute to the digital euro brand rules
Third meeting of the Bank of Japan CBDC Forum
Third meeting of the Bank of Japan CBDC Forum
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) published an English version of slides presented at the October 17, 2024 meeting of its CBDC Forum. The BOJ provided an update on the development of the prototype system details of the system, and updates on progress made by different working groups. Since April 2023, the BOJ has been conducting technical evaluations not explored in the earlier proof of concept phase, while leveraging the skills and insights of private businesses. https://www.boj.or.jp/en/paym/digital/dig240531a.pdf
#Fintech#CBDC#Japan#DFC
·boj.or.jp·
Third meeting of the Bank of Japan CBDC Forum
Sovereign Yidindji Dollar
Sovereign Yidindji Dollar
The Yidindji Reserve Bank acts as the sovereign monetary authority for the Yidindji Nation. It may issue its own currency or develop alternative systems of exchange that reflect Indigenous values and economic priorities under instruction from the Office of Chief Minister & the Department of the Treasury.
#CBDC#Yidindji#Fintech#DFC
·yidindji.org·
Sovereign Yidindji Dollar
Tether to Shutter Euro Stablecoin as Key MiCA Deadline Looms
Tether to Shutter Euro Stablecoin as Key MiCA Deadline Looms
Tether will discontinue support for its EUR₮ euro stablecoin. As such, Tether has ceased minting EUR₮, with the last acquisition request processed in 2022, and new EUR₮ issuance requests are no longer accepted. Holders of EUR₮ on all blockchains should redeem their holdings by November 27th, 2025. In any case, there has been little demand for EUR₮ with only $27 million market capitalization, versus Circle's EURC $90 million and Stasis Euro's $130 million, and Tether's USDT's $132 billion (according to CoinGecko). Also, EUR₮ is not compliant with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) which comes into force at the end of 2024. Under it, stablecoin issuers will be required to hold at least 60% of reserve assets in European banks, whereas Tether prefers to invest the bulk of its stablecoin reserves in short-term marketable government securities. https://tether.io/news/tether-updates-users-on-a-strategic-transition-to-better-support-community-driven-product-support/
#Stablecoins#CryptoAssets#Tether#Regulation#Fintech#Europe#DFC
·coindesk.com·
Tether to Shutter Euro Stablecoin as Key MiCA Deadline Looms
Japan is wary of allowing banks to issue stablecoins, other than trust banks
Japan is wary of allowing banks to issue stablecoins, other than trust banks
"Last week the Financial Services Agency (FSA) presented some ideas relating to cryptocurrency and stablecoins to the Financial System Council Working Group on Payment Services. The FSA is reluctant to allow banks to issue stablecoins other than trust banks. For trust bank issued stablecoins, it wants to relax the reserve requirements which currently require all assets to be held in bank demand deposits. However, it also wants to impose the travel rule, requiring KYC for trust bank issued stablecoin transfers."
#Stablecoins#Regulation#CryptoAssets#Fintech#Japan#DFC
·ledgerinsights.com·
Japan is wary of allowing banks to issue stablecoins, other than trust banks
Russian ministry urges 2-year transition period for CBDC adoption
Russian ministry urges 2-year transition period for CBDC adoption
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has called for a two-year transition period before making merchant acceptance of digital ruble payments mandatory, citing concerns over unprepared infrastructure. The draft law that would make digital ruble payments mandatory for large retailers by July 2025, which could create serious challenges for those businesses. The Ministry particularly emphasized the need for clear operational guidelines, and additional time to finalize software, update information systems, conduct testing, and train staff. https://iz.ru/1797505/2024-11-27/torgovla-zaprosila-dva-goda-na-perehod-k-cifrovomu-rublu
#Fintech#CBDC#Russia#DFC
·crypto.news·
Russian ministry urges 2-year transition period for CBDC adoption
Retail CBDC legal and system design considerations
Retail CBDC legal and system design considerations
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published reports on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) system design and legal considerations. They were written by a group comprised of the BIS and seven central banks (Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank). The system design paper provides perspectives on overall system design and four key issues: privacy, cyber security (including quantum computing), offline functionality and point of sale considerations. The legal paper examines key legal questions, focusing on four areas: the legal classification of retail CBDC; the obligations and liabilities of participants in the retail CBDC ecosystem; privacy and financial crime and cross-border issues.
#CBDC#rCBDC#Fintech#BIS#Legal#DFC
·bis.org·
Retail CBDC legal and system design considerations
Credit Agricole CIB, CACEIS experiment with tokenized deposits, wCBDC as part of ECB trials
Credit Agricole CIB, CACEIS experiment with tokenized deposits, wCBDC as part of ECB trials
As part of the ECB wholesale DLT settlement trials, Crédit Agricole CIB simulated cross border payments using a tokenized correspondent banking model with the interbank settlement conducted with the Banque de France's pilot CBDC on its DL3S platform. This experiment tested the potential for corporate clients to manage their real time treasury cash balances 24/7 across jurisdictions.
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#Settlement#Eurozone#Tokenization#France#ECB#DFC
·ledgerinsights.com·
Credit Agricole CIB, CACEIS experiment with tokenized deposits, wCBDC as part of ECB trials
EIB issues second €100m digital bond in a week using wCBDC
EIB issues second €100m digital bond in a week using wCBDC
The European Investment Bank (EIB) issued another €100 million digital bond. using the Banque de France’s pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for settlement, as part of the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) wholesale DLT settlement trials in central bank money which end this month. This time, Goldman Sachs provided its GS DAP as the tokenization platform for the issuance, with Goldman Sachs Bank Europe acting as joint lead manager alongside DZ Bank and LBBW. https://www.eib.org/en/investor-relations/press/all/fi-2024-14-eib-2nd-digital-bond-eurosystem-explanatory-work
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#Eurozone#Settlement#Tokenization#ECB#France#DFC
·ledgerinsights.com·
EIB issues second €100m digital bond in a week using wCBDC