The Digital Dollar Project (DDP) published an updated version of its white paper “Exploring a U.S. CBDC,” offering a global perspective on the rapidly accelerating developments in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The European Central Bank (ECB) published a digital euro "way forward" slide deck that provides a nice summary of the current status of their CBDC project, including the timeline
Circle Releases First Annual “State of the USDC Economy” Report
"As our first State of the USDC Economy annual retrospective spells out, the green shoots of global utility value are sprouting up everywhere, catalyzing a wave of open, responsible financial services innovation that can improve pathways to prosperity, while protecting the integrity of the global financial system."
IMF to collaborate with the Philippines on wholesale CBDC project
The IMF will be collaborating with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to create a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) aimed at addressing (i) frictions on cross border foreign currency transfers; (ii) settlement risk exposure arising from the use of commercial bank money in the equities market; and (iii) challenges in operating the automated intraday liquidity facility. The BSP has decided that retail CBDC would have limited benefits for the Philippines economy due to widespread digitalization of retail payments and financial inclusion reforms. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2022/12/15/Philippines-2022-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-and-Staff-Report-526983
Exploring multilateral platforms for cross-border payments
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), the BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank published a paper on challenges to addressing and approaching the establishment of a multilateral cross-border payments platform. Such a platform could reduce the need for intermediaries and allow payment service providers in different jurisdictions to transact directly with each other. Two paths are examined – the growth approach that involves expanding existing multilateral platforms to additional jurisdictions, currencies and participants, and the greenfield approach that involves building a new, potentially global, infrastructure for cross-border payments.
Central Bank Digital Currency? How money could be redesigned
"The stakes for redesigning access to money are high. As such, many exciting areas remain for future research, including socio-technical and user research; systems design, security and privacy; and research on the economics of CBDC compared to existing solutions. In exploring these topics, we must always ask ourselves whether new financial technologies increase the self-determination and agency of the poor and vulnerable. In order to achieve a public interest benefit from money technologies, we must achieve inclusion as well as other dimensions of the public good." (This is a summary of the recent MIT survey-based paper on CBDC and financial inclusion.)
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reportedly confirmed that it will not be exploring retail CBDC, instead focusing on wholesale CBDC to improve settlement times between banks. In April 2022 the BSP announced the start of its Project CBDCPh wholesale CBDC pilot program, with several leading financial institutions playing a part. On the retail payments front, the BSP has been focusing on drumming up support for private-sector digital payment rails, like they did with its recent “BSP Piso Caravan” program aimed at encouraging the public to replace their unfit banknotes and coins with digital cash. https://www.bsp.gov.ph/SitePages/MediaAndResearch/MediaDisp.aspx?ItemId=6588
Iran and Russia are developing a stablecoin backed by gold
Iran and Russia are reportedly looking to launch a new gold-backed stablecoin to be used for cross-border transactions in the place of the US dollar, the Iranian rial and the Russian ruble in the Persian Gulf region. The cryptocurrency would also specifically intended as a payment method in the Astrakhan area – an economic zone whose design helped Russia begin to receive cargo shipments from Iran.
The Council of the European Union (Eurogroup) reaffirmed its support for the continued efforts of all European and national institutions involved in the preparatory work for the potential issuance of a digital euro. It asserted that a digital euro should complement, and not replace cash, and should guarantee access to central bank money for euro area users in times of increased digitalization in payments.A risk-based approach could be followed to allow for more privacy in the case of less risky transactions, which could ensure a wider adoption of the digital euro among citizens with a stronger preference for privacy. The Council also supports the exploration of an offline functionality which would serve a wider range of use cases and also contribute to financial inclusion.
Why central banks should not push ahead with CBDCs
"CBDCs are a huge undertaking. Many of the motivations for doing it are very poor and there are a lot of risks. I would urge central banks not to do it."
Digital Currencies: Tanzania Central Bank Currency Launch
The Bank of Tanzania is working toward a “phased, cautious and risk-based” introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central bank will "continue to monitor, research and collaborate with stakeholders, including other central banks, in the efforts to arrive at a suitable and appropriate use and technology for issuance of Tanzanian shillings in digital form". It is exploring both retail and wholesale CBDC. https://www.bot.go.tz/Adverts/PressRelease/en/2023011413181519.pdf
"A CBDC poses substantial risks to financial privacy, financial freedom, free markets, and cybersecurity. Yet the purported benefits fail to stand up to scrutiny. There is no reason for the U.S. government to issue a CBDC when the costs are so high and the benefits so low."
Market research on possible technical solutions for a digital euro
As announced in December 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) is inviting market participants to take part in market research to get an overview of options for the technical design of possible digital euro components and services. Participation is voluntary and will not have any impact on eligibility for future procurement procedures related to a digital euro or any other topic. Nor will it imply any pre-selection for a potential subsequent tender. Submissions are due by February 17, 2023 in a fully anonymous manner, avoiding trade names.
E-Yuan App Adds Payment Function for When Mobiles Are Offline, Out of Power
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has added a new function to its e-CNY payment app so that select Android-based mobile phones can be still be used to make tap-to-pay payments without internet connection or power. Users need to activate the function in the e-yuan app, and can choose how many times it can be used and how much can be paid after their phone shuts down. A verification code needs to be entered on the device if a payment exceeds the code-free quota, and payment will continue only if it passes the system check. Users also can set payment limits in their phone settings. In addition, if users have lost their mobile phones they can log in to the e-yuan app on another mobile phone to suspend the payment-without-power function.
Addressing the risks in crypto: laying out the options
A Bank of International Settlements (BIS) paper suggests that authorities can take three different approaches when it comes to crypto-assets; targeted regulation, containment ("let crypto burn"), or a complete ban. Central banks and public authorities could also work to make traditional finance (TradFi) more attractive. A key option is to encourage sound innovation with central bank digital currency (CBDC).
CBDC: Expanding financial inclusion or deepening the divide?
The MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) published a paper on how a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be designed to improve access to financial services, and whether it makes economic sense for a central bank to issue CBDC as a means of promoting inclusion and what preconditions may be necessary for success. It argues that any digital currency is only as good for inclusion as the intermediaries through which people use it. Designing a CBDC that merely replicates the features of existing digital payment systems would not make a meaningful difference for financial inclusion.
Tron's USDD Stablecoin Experiences Fluctuations Again, Drops Below $1 Parity in Early 2023
"There have been some slight fluctuations in USDD’s price at the start of the new year, as the stablecoin has dipped to the 97-cent range on a few occasions in 2023. After Terra’s stablecoin depegging event in May 2022, USDD started to slip slightly below the $1 peg, causing anxiety in the crypto industry. A number of other stablecoins saw similar deviations. On June 19, 2022, USDD reached a low of 92.8 cents per unit, but the stablecoin managed to regain the $1 peg, trading between 98 cents and 99 cents per unit."
Why the steepest borrowing rate may be the best rate
"Even though the rate to borrow Tether is higher than the rate to borrow USD Coin, it may be worthwhile for me to go with the a Tether loan if I think that the odds of Tether failing justify the higher financing cost. We can even go a bit further and say that the 0.9% premium on a Tether loan is the market's best estimate of the odds of Tether losing its peg relative to USD Coin losing its peg. So for all those would-be stablecoin analysts out there, keep your eye on Aave's USD Coin-Tether spread. It's a good indicator of stablecoin risk."
JAM-DEX facilitates Government Wage Payment Employment Generation (Christmas Work) Programme » Bank of Jamaica
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) successfully used its JAM-DEX CBDC to pay wages to, and conduct of transactions by, select workers employed in the Christmas Work Programme from December 19 to 23, 2022. This involved onboarding three contractors, more than 100 workers and 70 small merchants to the Lynk app within select communities. Onboarded merchants were primarily market vendors and owners of food shops, restaurants and bars.
Bank of England hires Consult Hyperion for CBDC projects
The Bank of England (BoE) has engaged Consult Hyperion, on a pair of £100,000+ CBDC assignments. The contract award notices for Point-of-sale [PoS] proof-of-concept [PoC] consultancy services and Feasibility study service on the e-commerce of CBDC were published on the UK government’s Contracts Finder service. The website also shows that the BoE is currently working with Oliver Wyman to provide support on paper for research on digital currency and the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. Interestingly, all were awarded under nontransparent procurement processes that allow the BoE to avoid open tenders.
Moneda digital de Banxico se encuentra en fase inicial
A Mexican central bank digital currency (CBDC) is reportedly still in its initial stages of development, with the general directorate of payment systems and market infrastructures indicating that it is still determining the requirements for its issuance. Also, in response to a transparency request made by El Sol de México, Banxico said that for the fiscal year of 2022 10.22 million pesos (about $535,000) were allocated to the central bank's CBDC project, obtained from the fees charged to financial institutions for using the Interbank Electronic Payment System.
Retos y Perspectivas de la Moneda Digital de Banco Central (Mexico)
Presentation by Galia Borja Gómez, Subgobernadora, Banco de México* FORO AMFE 2022 "FINANCIAMIENTO ESPECIALIZADO EN UNA ECONOMÍA INTERNACIONAL QUE SE REGIONALIZA. CASO MÉXICO on September 30, 2022.
Banks concerned USDC stablecoin will become 'backdoor CBDC' with BlackRock help
The US-based Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is raising concerns that a sizeable proportion of Circle's USDC stablecoin reserves could be parked at the Federal Reserve, despite Circle not having a central bank account. Since November, BlackRock has been managing about two-thirds of the reserve assets in a bespoke money market fund, the Circle Reserve Fund (CRF) , which invests mostly in U.S. short-dated Treasuries. The BPI claims that Blackrock has applied for the fund to access the Fed's overnight reverse repo (ON RRP) facility, which provides money funds and government-sponsored enterprises a standing option to invest overnight with the Fed at a fixed rate, currently 4.3%. This involves the fund buying Treasuries from the Fed, which are resold to the Fed at a future date at a slightly higher price. The net effect of the cash flows, with the transfer of money to the Fed, is not dissimilar to depositing the USDC reserve cash at the Federal Reserve. The use of the ON RRP by the CRF could effectively transform USDC into a "backdoor" synthetic central bank digital currency (CBDC) if all of the assets are parked there. https://bpi.com/will-usdcs-blackrock-money-fund-create-a-back-door-cbdc-give-usdc-an-account-at-the-fed-or-both/
Algeria's Prime Minister, Aïmene Benabderrahmane, reportedly said that the Bank of Algeria is working to create a digital dinar" as part of the digitization of payments.
The 2021–22 Merchant Acceptance Survey Pilot Study
"In recent years, the rise in digital payment innovations such as contactless cards and Interac e‑Transfer has spurred a discussion about the future of cash at the point of sale. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to this discussion: While consumers reported that some merchants started to refuse cash early on in the pandemic, such reported refusals dropped as the pandemic progressed. The Bank of Canada’s most recent Merchant Acceptance Survey (MAS) took place in 2018, prompting a need for updated data to study merchant cash acceptance, payment trends and conditions for the potential issuance of a central bank digital currency (Lane 2020, 2021a). Against this background, the Bank conducted the 2021–22 MAS Pilot Study to monitor payment methods accepted by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Survey data was collected from merchants in two batches, in late 2021 and early 2022. Our results show that 97% of SMBs in Canada accepted cash in 2021–22 and only 3% have plans to stop accepting cash. For cards and digital payments, merchant acceptance has increased since 2018. Additionally, the acceptance of different payment methods varies by the size of the merchant, industry and region."
Call for expressions of interest in participation in the digital euro scheme Rulebook Development Group
The ECB/Eurosystem is inviting payments/finance experts to express their interest in contributing to the drafting of a rulebook for a digital euro scheme. Applicants will need to be nominated by a relevant European stakeholder association representing key players in the European retail payments market. Candidates will be selected based on their managerial experience in retail payments and the skills required for the role.
Russia Digital Bill On Rubble New Power Plants Siberia Crypto Mining Miners Duma
A draft law dedicated to the digital ruble has reportedly been filed in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. The law introduces rules to determine how the new form of national decree will be issued and amends a series of legal acts to facilitate its implementation. The "Currency Regulation and Currency Control" law will be amended to secure the digital ruble's legal tender status, and changes to the federal law on "Personal Data" will allow the central bank to tap into personal information without asking for consent.
