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How Kenyan Micro-Task Workers Are Using Stablecoins To Make Affordable Cross-Border Payments
How Kenyan Micro-Task Workers Are Using Stablecoins To Make Affordable Cross-Border Payments
"According to a pilot study by Mercy Corps Ventures on a group of Kenyans providing micro-task services to Appen, a data company for the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence products, Stable coins were identified as the optimum solution that delivers the highest value to the micro-task worker as the transaction fees and speeds are lowest. The workers delivered services to Appen through a micro-working app named Corsali. They were then paid through the same app."
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#Celo#Ethereum#Payments#DFC
·forbes.com·
How Kenyan Micro-Task Workers Are Using Stablecoins To Make Affordable Cross-Border Payments
State-sponsored cryptocurrency
State-sponsored cryptocurrency
This Deloitte paper advocates for combining the best attributes of crypto-asset technology with the features of an established fiat currency under the sponsorship of a central bank? However, to me it sounds like they're describing a central bank-issued fiat-pegged stablecoin running on a private permissioned distributed ledger technology-based network. Am I missing something, because this just sounds like a fairly generic central bank digital currency?
#Fintech#CBDC#CryptoAssets#DFC
·www2.deloitte.com·
State-sponsored cryptocurrency
You Lost Your Electronic Cash? Tough Luck.
You Lost Your Electronic Cash? Tough Luck.
If you want to have a central bank digital currency that is a form of electronic cash, that is value that can be transferred from person to person (or, more accurately, from device to device) without online access to some central database or blockchain or whatever else, then you have the obvious problem that if the device containing the electronic cash is lost or destroyed then the value is lost or destroyed with it. But is this actually a problem? I mean, should we try to design a digital currency so that it can be recovered? Maybe it is better if it can be lost.
#Fintech#CBDC#Offline#DFC
·forbes.com·
You Lost Your Electronic Cash? Tough Luck.
Facebook Libra: the inside story of how the company’s cryptocurrency dream died
Facebook Libra: the inside story of how the company’s cryptocurrency dream died
"What emerges is a picture of Silicon Valley executives who thought they could charge into finance and make billions, if only they could surmount technical and regulatory barriers. What they failed to realise was that the very fact Facebook had conceived the idea, doomed it. As one government official involved in the process puts it: “Diem spent years trying to reverse engineer their project to fix all of its faults. But they could never fix being linked to Facebook. It was their original sin.”"
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#Facebook#Regulation#UnitedStates#DFC
·ft.com·
Facebook Libra: the inside story of how the company’s cryptocurrency dream died
$2500 Incentive For Jamaicans To Get Digital Wallet
$2500 Incentive For Jamaicans To Get Digital Wallet
The first 100,000 Jamaicans establishing Jam-Dex Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets (accounts) after April 1, will receive a $2,500 deposit from the Government. Minister of Finance and the Public Service Nigel Clarke advised that four more wallet providers are expected to be onboarded by the Bank of Jamaica by June, to bring the overall number to five. The national CBDC rollout is scheduled sometime between the beginning of the April to and the end of June.
$2500 Incentive For Jamaicans To Get Digital
#Fintech#CBDC#Caribbean#DFC
·jis.gov.jm·
$2500 Incentive For Jamaicans To Get Digital Wallet
ECB’s Lagarde Supports Acceleration of Digital Euro Work
ECB’s Lagarde Supports Acceleration of Digital Euro Work
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde reportedly says she supports accelerating work on a digital euro. She is confident it will become a reality, but the decision is ultimately up to the ECB's General Council. Lagarde told Bloomberg last year that the digital euro could be rolled out by 2025, although In September ECB adviser Jürgen Schaaf said the ECB's experiments and research into a digital euro are no guarantee that one will be launched.
#Fintech#CBDC#Eurozone#DFC
·coindesk.com·
ECB’s Lagarde Supports Acceleration of Digital Euro Work
USDF Stablecoin Consortium Adds 3 More Banks
USDF Stablecoin Consortium Adds 3 More Banks
"Amerant Bank, ConnectOne Bank and Primis Bank have joined founding members New York Community Bank, Synovus Bank, NBH Bank, First Bank and Webster Bank in the USDF Consortium, the group said in a statement Wednesday. Investment bank Piper Sandler will offer guidance through the process as the consortium grows."
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#USDF#DFC
·coindesk.com·
USDF Stablecoin Consortium Adds 3 More Banks
CBDCs in the Americas: Implications, Opportunities and Adoption
CBDCs in the Americas: Implications, Opportunities and Adoption
Ripple's VP of Central Bank Engagement, James Wallis, recently hosted a roundtable-style webinar with expert panelists and guest speakers to explore the current state of CBDCs, particularly within the Americas. Beyond just implications for central banks, the conversation touched on what CBDCs could mean for consumers and commercial banks, the biggest opportunities in front of the technology and current roadblocks to its meaningful adoption. John Kiff, former Senior Financial Sector Expert at the International Monetary Fund, said China’s pilot is one of six underway in the world — four of which are in the Americas. In total, more than 100 countries are currently exploring CBDCs.
#Fintech#CBDC#DFC
·ripple.com·
CBDCs in the Americas: Implications, Opportunities and Adoption
Approaches in retail CBDC: Aligning technology with policy
Approaches in retail CBDC: Aligning technology with policy
Amazon Web Services (AWS) published Retail Central Bank Digital Currency: From Vision to Design, which outlines a framework that can help support policymakers in evaluating the interdependencies between central bank digital currency (CBDC) policy and technology choices. In a blog post, they summarized the key principles outlined in paper (see below). "The CBDC strategy framework starts with a central bank’s policy goals and aligns those to design principles to create awareness of potential policy trade-offs. Then, the solution exploration phase aligns technology considerations to those principles, and competitive dynamics from the design are considered. Results from experimentation then feed back into design principles to make sure the technical solution aligns to policy goals."
#Fintech#CBDC#Amazon#DFC
·aws.amazon.com·
Approaches in retail CBDC: Aligning technology with policy
ECCB DCash Service Resumes
ECCB DCash Service Resumes
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) announced that full functionality of the DCash CBDC platform has been restored effective March 9. It had been down since January 14, 2022As part of the restoration, the platform now benefits from several upgrades including an enhanced certificate management process and an updated version of the software which provides the foundation for the DCash system. Extensive testing and assurance exercises were conducted prior to restoration of the platform to ensure full functionality of the service in accordance with quality assurance specifications.
#Fintech#CBDC#Caribbean#DFC
·eccb-centralbank.org·
ECCB DCash Service Resumes
Biden Issues Executive Order on Crypto and Digital Dollar
Biden Issues Executive Order on Crypto and Digital Dollar
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order outlining a whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology. The Order lays out a national policy for digital assets across six key priorities: consumer and investor protection; financial stability; illicit finance; U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness; financial inclusion; and responsible innovation. It directs federal agencies to coordinate efforts at drafting cryptocurrency regulations. It also directs the U.S. Treasury Department to draft a report on “the future of money and payment systems," and asks agencies to evaluate how the U.S. could issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) “should issuance be deemed in the national interest.” "The Order also encourages the Federal Reserve Board to continue its research, development, and assessment efforts for a U.S. CBDC, including development of a plan for broader U.S. Government action in support of their work. This effort prioritizes U.S. participation in multi-country experimentation, and ensures U.S. leadership internationally to promote CBDC development that is consistent with U.S. priorities and democratic values.
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Regulation#CBDC#UnitedStates#DFC
·whitehouse.gov·
Biden Issues Executive Order on Crypto and Digital Dollar
OeNB research project explores suitability of blockchain technology for issuing and settling bonds in real time using a wholesale CBDC
OeNB research project explores suitability of blockchain technology for issuing and settling bonds in real time using a wholesale CBDC
"The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) joined forces with the OeKB CSD GmbH, the Österreichische Bundesfinanzierungsagentur (OeBFA), Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Erste Group Bank AG to launch a joint research project dubbed DELPHI (Delivery vs. Payment Hybrid Initiative). In this project, the involved parties aim to simulate both the issuance and settlement of Austrian government bonds as security tokens on a blockchain platform."
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#Settlement#Eurozone#DFC
·oenb.at·
OeNB research project explores suitability of blockchain technology for issuing and settling bonds in real time using a wholesale CBDC
E-Purses & Offline CBDCs
E-Purses & Offline CBDCs
Franklin Noll, who is a big fan of "smart banknotes" is not so keen on stored-value devices ("E-Purses") that hold and transfer digital currency via NFC and do not require internet or outside electricity. He trots out various problems with E-Purses, all with little to no substantiation.  He claims that E-purses are expensive, costing at least $1 each if produced in the millions of units. He questions the durability of the devices and the likelihood of high replacement rates. The cards required periodic charging, which is a problem in areas with spotty electricity, and they require chips that can be hacked and need to be sourced from anywhere but China. Franklin also doubts that E-Purses will be widely adopted, based on the adoption failures of similar devices in the past (the UK Mondex Finnish Avant Avant cards in the 1990s. He claims that part of the problem was that they required a lot of user maintenance. [Read more]
#Fintech#CBDC#Offline#DFC
·franklinnoll.com·
E-Purses & Offline CBDCs
Is Putin's end game the roll out of a domestic CBDC?
Is Putin's end game the roll out of a domestic CBDC?
"The TLDR of it is that he believes Putin isn’t mad, but focused on strategically cutting himself off from the global economy for a different purpose. He wants an excuse to onboard the entire nation onto a digital currency plaform that’s 100 per cent controlled by the state so as to better control the domestic economy which is facing unparalleld pressure."
#Fintech#CBDC#Russia#DFC
·the-blindspot.com·
Is Putin's end game the roll out of a domestic CBDC?
Central Bank Digital Loonie: Canadian Cash for a New Global Economy
Central Bank Digital Loonie: Canadian Cash for a New Global Economy
"Being a finalist in this competition, this manuscript presents a design proposal for a Central Bank Digital Loonie (CBDL) based on careful academic research of the possible technological, legal, and economic components of such an unprecedented and historic expedition. We propose a two-phased approach. In the first phase, the BoC introduces a centralized platform as a public-good infrastructure that establishes digital cash and ensures global/domestic interoperability. In this phase, e-KYC-based authentication leverages existing private/public sector solutions but also safeguards users' privacy/data against third-party commercial interests while complying with AML/CFT. In the second phase, the BoC will expand the platform to an enterprise-level permissioned blockchain. This shared resource will transform CBDLs into "programmable e-money" within a “social operating system” that will enable Canadians to operate, innovate, compete, and thrive in this new global digital economy."
#Fintech#CBDC#Canada#DFC
·papers.ssrn.com·
Central Bank Digital Loonie: Canadian Cash for a New Global Economy
Why Stablecoin Interest Rates Are So Damn High
Why Stablecoin Interest Rates Are So Damn High
"Why are interest rates on dollar-pegged stablecoins so much higher than interest rates on actual dollars? You’d think that a stablecoin worth a dollar would command the same interest rate as a dollar, namely zero. But a quick search of lending rates on stablecoins reveals rates of anything from 9% to 13%, or even more."
#Fintech#CryptoAssets#Stablecoins#DFC
·coindesk.com·
Why Stablecoin Interest Rates Are So Damn High
PBOC branch chief seeks clarity on digital yuan as legal tender
PBOC branch chief seeks clarity on digital yuan as legal tender
"People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Nanjing branch president Guo Xinming proposed amendments to the administrative law to clarify the digital yuan’s status as legal tender at China’s annual plenary session on March 5, 2022. Meanwhile, He Hengyang, a deputy to the NPC and chief procurator of the Chongqing Municipal Procuratorate, also proposed amendments to the criminal law for guidelines on charges and sentencing of digital yuan-related crimes. He said digital yuan-related crimes could violate existing law and citizens’ information protection, data security, and economic and national security."
#Fintech#CBDC#China#DFC
·forkast.news·
PBOC branch chief seeks clarity on digital yuan as legal tender
Towards a common understanding of digital currency
Towards a common understanding of digital currency
A working group formed through the Digital Currency Global Initiative has set out to establish a common classification framework for all kinds of digital currency. Members of the architecture-focused working group introduced a new tool designed to overcome terminology problems during January 2022's DC3 conference hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The working group is building an ontology – an explanatory framework of terms and characteristics – that can describe exactly what constitutes different kinds of digital currency. The goal is to marry basic taxonomy concepts with deeper ontology concepts, or so-called “notions.”
#Fintech#CBDC#CryptoAssets#DFC
·itu.int·
Towards a common understanding of digital currency
Reviving the SDR for the next century
Reviving the SDR for the next century
"USD650bn of the International Monetary Fund’s synthetic currency, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), today hits the balance sheets of IMF members as a response to the pandemic. The scramble to leverage this allocation for development and climate change underlines how far from the SDR’s original purpose—as the elastic provision of global liquidity—we have traveled. Yet the emergence of cryptocurrency technology suggests ways the SDR could be revamped for the global challenges ahead. With imagination and ambition, such a revamp would allow developing economy savings to be channeled into productive investments rather than financing the US current account. This would be a genuine watershed in the fight against climate change."
#Fintech#CBDC#SDR#IMF#DFC
·moneyinsideout.exantedata.com·
Reviving the SDR for the next century
Philippines central bank to launch CBDC research effort
Philippines central bank to launch CBDC research effort
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is moving ahead with a research project focused on central bank digital currency (CBDC). The BSP's  exploratory work started in 2021, focusing implications of CBDC for the whole financial system. A national payment system assessment was later conducted which resulted in the identification of relevant use cases of wholesale CBDC aimed at enhancing the payment system’s safety, resiliency, and efficiency. As a next step, the BSP targets to roll-out Project CBDCPh aimed at building organizational capacity and hands-on knowledge of key aspects of CBDC that are relevant for a use case around addressing frictions in the national payment system.
#Fintech#CBDC#Asia-Pacific#DFC
·bsp.gov.ph·
Philippines central bank to launch CBDC research effort
Central Bank completes Sand Dollar’s link to automated clearing house
Central Bank completes Sand Dollar’s link to automated clearing house
The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) has now completed its integration of the Sand Dollar with the Bahamas Automated Clearing House (BACH) system, opening the door for Sand Dollar to now be transferred from a digital wallet to any deposit account at a local commercial bank. Sand Dollar users simply pair their mobile wallets to a deposit account and carry out transfers.
#Fintech#CBDC#Caribbean#DFC
·thenassauguardian.com·
Central Bank completes Sand Dollar’s link to automated clearing house
Swiss DLT trading facilities can have central bank accounts, use SIC for payments
Swiss DLT trading facilities can have central bank accounts, use SIC for payments
The Swiss National Bank clarified the criteria for allowing distributed ledger technology (DLT) trading facilities to access to the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) payment system, to enable atomic securities settlement. This simultaneous exchange of a tokenized asset for cash ideally requires access to the payment system and an account at the central bank. Last year new legislation came into force that created a "DLT trading facility"  license in the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FinMIA), without which separate licenses would be needed for trading versus custody and settlement. DLT trading facilities that use SIC are expected to have a central bank account or "sight deposit".
#Fintech#CBDC#wCBDC#Switzerland#Settlement#Regulation#DFC
·snb.ch·
Swiss DLT trading facilities can have central bank accounts, use SIC for payments
CBDC and the security–financial inclusion dilemma
CBDC and the security–financial inclusion dilemma
"If a CBDC can be stored in a wallet, it may be necessary that the wallet safely stores value and can be easily set up and accessed like any other traditional mobile app. All in all, central banks should try to find the optimum CBDC design which combines an acceptable level of security with a seamless and enjoyable user experience if they want to achieve widespread adoption."
#Fintech#CBDC#Offline#DFC
·blog.digital-euro-association.de·
CBDC and the security–financial inclusion dilemma
ECCB DCash Service to Resume Next Week
ECCB DCash Service to Resume Next Week
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is completing the final testing and assurance exercises following several system upgrades and will make the DCash platform available for public use during the week of March 7. The DCash system has been down since January 14. The interruption was due to an expiring certificate on the version of the Hyperledger Fabric that hosts the DCash ledger, and not to any external intervention. It has taken longer than expected to fix the problem because the ECCB took the opportunity to undertake several upgrades platform including enhancing the system’s certificate management processes, and updating the version of Hyperledger Fabric. Other upgrades will allow the platform to process government disbursements to individuals and permit commercial websites to accept DCash. The ECCB says that the security and integrity of all DCash data, applications and architecture, including all central bank, financial institutions, merchant and wallet apps remain secure and intact.
#Fintech#CBDC#Caribbean#DFC
·eccb-centralbank.org·
ECCB DCash Service to Resume Next Week
Project Hamilton by the Boston Fed: A Summary
Project Hamilton by the Boston Fed: A Summary
"Project Hamilton is a joint venture between the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Digital Currency Initiative.  It is a multi-year research project aimed at gaining a hands-on understanding of CBDC design.  Hamilton is in phase one, researching a transaction processing system flexible enough to support experimentation with multiple CBDC models. In a white paper, “A High Performance Payment Processing System Designed for Central Bank Digital Currencies,” the Project Hamilton developers describe their efforts and results.  Here is my summary of the Hamilton Project whitepaper."
#Fintech#CBDC#UnitedStates#DFC
·blog.digital-euro-association.de·
Project Hamilton by the Boston Fed: A Summary
Crunchfish prevents fraudulent cloning and Digital Cash double spending
Crunchfish prevents fraudulent cloning and Digital Cash double spending
"Crunchfish has applied for a patent for a logical lock that protects against fraudulent use by cloning of Trusted Applications, which significantly enhances the security of any Trusted Applications running in hardware based as well as software based secure execution environments. For instance, double spending may occur if a clone of the Digital Cash offline Trusted Application is generated and continues to operate offline. This patent pending innovation prevents such double spending with Digital Cash offline."
#Fintech#CBDC#Offline#Crunchfish#DFC
·crunchfish.com·
Crunchfish prevents fraudulent cloning and Digital Cash double spending