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Digital central bank money for Europeans – getting ready for the future
Digital central bank money for Europeans – getting ready for the future
According to this European Central Bank (ECB) blog post... "There are three misconceptions about the digital euro. First, that the ECB intends to abolish cash and then, having done so, impose even lower interest rates on the digital euro for reasons related to how monetary policy is implemented. Second, that a digital euro would displace banking intermediation. And third, that the digital euro would not be based on a viable business model. First of all, it is not yet decided whether a digital euro will be introduced at all. We are still exploring the possibility and considering it conceptually. Later this year, the ECB’s Governing Council will decide whether or not the ECB should launch a project to get ready to issue a digital euro. Even if it decides to do so, it would simply mean that it want to be prepared. A decision to actually issue a digital euro would come at a later stage."
·ecb.europa.eu·
Digital central bank money for Europeans – getting ready for the future
Bank of Japan Establishes CBDC Liaison and Coordination Committee
Bank of Japan Establishes CBDC Liaison and Coordination Committee
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will engage in experiments on general-purpose central bank digital currency (CBDC) from fiscal year 2021. The BoJ will first test the technical feasibility of the core functions and features required for CBDC through proof of concepts (PoC). It has has established a "Liaison and Coordination Committee on Central Bank Digital Currency" through which it will share details of and provide updates on the PoC with the private sector and the government and will seek consultation on future steps to facilitate smooth implementation of the PoC.
·boj.or.jp·
Bank of Japan Establishes CBDC Liaison and Coordination Committee
Central Banks and Crypto Currencies
Central Banks and Crypto Currencies
"John Kiff, a senior analyst at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), notes that retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are currently in some stage of research and development at least 52 central banks around the world. In a March webcast sponsored by the Central Bank Digital Currency Think Tank (CBDCTT.com), Kiff said that several major central banks are now deeply involved in CBDC efforts, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England and its counterparts in Japan, Canada, and elsewhere. Moreover, Kiff said the IMF is running a CBDC “technical assistance program” for smaller central banks."
·iinetworks.com·
Central Banks and Crypto Currencies
Consumer-Centric Aspects of the Proposed Regulations for the Bahamian Digital Currency
Consumer-Centric Aspects of the Proposed Regulations for the Bahamian Digital Currency
The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) circulated draft Sand Dollar regulations for for public consultation on February 15. They are intended to enhance the existing legislative framework governing Payment Services Providers (PSPs), specific to their provision of central bank digital currency (CBDC) linked services. The consultation period closes on March 31 and the regulations will be finalized for issuance by May 1, 2021. Also, all wallet providers are expected to achieve full interoperability by March 31.
·centralbankbahamas.com·
Consumer-Centric Aspects of the Proposed Regulations for the Bahamian Digital Currency
Bank Negara Malaysia to Evaluate Merits of Digital Currencies Through POCs
Bank Negara Malaysia to Evaluate Merits of Digital Currencies Through POCs
Bank Negara Malaysia is “actively building internal capacity to support informed decisions" on central bank digital currency (CBDC) including conducting proofs of concepts (POCs). Though they do not have any immediate plans to issue CBDC they will “actively assess the potential value proposition of CBDC”. The central bank said that policy decisions around CBDCs will be guided by whether it is able to demonstrate clear benefits to Malaysia as a whole while ensuring that risks from CBDCs are effectively managed, in particular, the financial stability risks. https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/ar2020_en_pr
·fintechnews.my·
Bank Negara Malaysia to Evaluate Merits of Digital Currencies Through POCs
Digital version of fiat currency in works
Digital version of fiat currency in works
The Reserve Bank of India is still working on introducing a digital version of the fiat currency, assessing the financial stability implications of introducing such a central bank digital currency (CBDC). As the underlying technology is still developing, we are exploring ways for a clear, safe and legally certain settlement finality, which is most crucial for a secure and efficient payment system. https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1106
·thehindubusinessline.com·
Digital version of fiat currency in works
Crunchfish enables digital cash as the default means of payment for real-time mobile payments
Crunchfish enables digital cash as the default means of payment for real-time mobile payments
Crunchfish’s Digital Cash Wallet compliments any digital payment service on smart cards or in digital wallets with capabilities that replicates paying with cash. A two-step hierarchical architecture makes Digital Cash payments independent from the net, offering instant clearing offline at the moment of payment, followed by settlement online to move money between accounts. The Digital Cash Wallet has a mirrored virtual online account which is debited when either the payer or the receiver connects online. The virtual account may only be debited from the Digital Cash Wallet, protecting against overdrafts, and it also registers all activity in the Digital Cash Wallet. VISA has recently proposed this two-tier architecture for CBDC.
·crunchfish.com·
Crunchfish enables digital cash as the default means of payment for real-time mobile payments
Bank of Thailand to begin central bank digital currency tests in 2022
Bank of Thailand to begin central bank digital currency tests in 2022
The Bank of Thailand has set its agenda for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) with preliminary testing protocols scheduled to begin in Q2 2022. As part of its plans, the central bank published a preliminary report detailing its CBDC thesis. The main motivations are increasing financial inclusion and reducing the risk that private stablecoins underming the central bank's “monetary sovereignty and financial stability.” The central bank will begin its CBDC developmental efforts by engaging with stakeholders followed by cost-benefit analysis to ascertain the opportunities, risks and challenges. https://www.bot.or.th/English/PressandSpeeches/Press/2021/Pages/n2164.aspx
·cointelegraph.com·
Bank of Thailand to begin central bank digital currency tests in 2022
Bank of Japan Commences Central Bank Digital Currency Experiments
Bank of Japan Commences Central Bank Digital Currency Experiments
On April 5, 2021, the Bank of Japan began its Phase 1 central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof of concept (PoC) work. In PoC Phase 1, the Bank plans to develop a test environment for the CBDC system and conduct experiments on the basic functions that are core to CBDC as a payment instrument such as issuance, distribution, and redemption. This phase will be carried out through March 2022. The BoJ will then move to Phase 2 to test more detailed functions of CBDC, and then, if necessary, on to Phase 3, in which private businesses and end-users will participate in a pilot program. https://www.boj.or.jp/announcements/release_2020/rel201009e.htm/
·boj.or.jp·
Bank of Japan Commences Central Bank Digital Currency Experiments
A solution for the e-krona based on blockchain technology has been tested
A solution for the e-krona based on blockchain technology has been tested
"The solution based on blockchain technology that has been developed and tested by the Riksbank in its e-krona project provides new possibilities, but is also new and needs further investigation. This is one of the lessons learned as described in the e-krona pilot project’s report on its first phase. The e-krona pilot has the objective of testing a proposal for a technical solution to increase the Riksbank's knowledge of how an e-krona could function and be used as a complement to cash... One important question is whether the e-krona will function even without access to the internet, what is known as off-line functionality, a possibility the project has not yet tested.
·riksbank.se·
A solution for the e-krona based on blockchain technology has been tested
No Government Will Allow Anonymous Digital Currency
No Government Will Allow Anonymous Digital Currency
"Technology gives us ways to deliver appropriate levels of privacy into this kind of transactional system and to do it securely and efficiently within a democratic framework. In particular, privacy-enhancing technology gives us the apparently paradoxical ability to keep private data on a shared or public ledger, which I think will form the basis in new financial institutions (the "glass bank" that I am fond of using as the key image) that work in new kinds of markets."
·forbes.com·
No Government Will Allow Anonymous Digital Currency
Digital yuan campaign planned for contested island in the South China Sea
Digital yuan campaign planned for contested island in the South China Sea
South China’s Hainan Province, which administers the prefectural Sansha City on a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, will reportedly run a two-week campaign from April 12 to April 25, to promote the use of the digital yuan among island residents. The Industrial and Commercial Bank’s Hainan Branch will support various consumption offers across island supermarkets, hotels and restaurants, where participants will receive a 99-yuan discount for every expenditure worth 100 yuan.
·cointelegraph.com·
Digital yuan campaign planned for contested island in the South China Sea
Russia's Digital Ruble Is Getting Closer to the Prototype Stage
Russia's Digital Ruble Is Getting Closer to the Prototype Stage
Bank of Russia deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin and first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova revealed plans to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2023. A prototype of the digital ruble will be created by December 2021. The Bank also published a fresh report on the current state and future plans for the project.
·coindesk.com·
Russia's Digital Ruble Is Getting Closer to the Prototype Stage
Visa and PayPal Can Be Polkadots of CBDCs
Visa and PayPal Can Be Polkadots of CBDCs
As CBDCs emerge as a major disruptor to existing infrastructure, interoperability remains one of the most significant roadblocks to their functionality. Although most financial institutions remained wary of digital currencies, payment players like Visa, Mastercard and PayPal have not only accepted the concept of cryptocurrencies and CBDCs but are constantly innovating on both fronts. The future could see them carving out a new niche for themselves – as the interoperability layer for the upcoming CBDC world.
·coindesk.com·
Visa and PayPal Can Be Polkadots of CBDCs
Digital currency guaranteed by the Czech National Bank - the future of the koruna?
Digital currency guaranteed by the Czech National Bank - the future of the koruna?
"The Czech National Bank has always promoted its technological neutrality. It cannot therefore force the population to innovate that is not driven by societal demand. However, Covid-19 showed us how quickly the population can change their habits. Crises are generally a catalyst, an accelerator of development that would otherwise take many years. Although we are at the beginning in this area, it is possible that digital cash will in some form be part of the future of the Czech koruna as well."
·cnb.cz·
Digital currency guaranteed by the Czech National Bank - the future of the koruna?
Is CBDC really a public option?
Is CBDC really a public option?
According to George Selgin, many proponents of central bank digital currency (CBDC) too readily assume that it can be viewed as a "public option," that is, something costless to a public that doesn't have to use it if it doesn't wish to. But the CBDC "option" isn't a free lunch: it isn't just an extra menu item consumers can choose, or not, the presence of which can't possibly make them worse off. It is an option we should consider only with due attention to its potential, non-trivial immediate and long-run costs.
·threadreaderapp.com·
Is CBDC really a public option?
ECB report on the public consultation on a digital euro
ECB report on the public consultation on a digital euro
The European Central Bank (ECB) published in-depth results of their digital euro consultation. The survey, which ran from October 20, 2020 to January 12, 2021 and collected 8,221 responses, asked 18 questions pertaining to the benefits and challenges of issuing a digital euro and on its possible design. It found that privacy is the most demanded feature followed by security and usability. 47% of respondents were from Germany, which is notorious for its continuing high levels of cash usage, and most respondents (33%) come from the tech industry.
·ecb.europa.eu·
ECB report on the public consultation on a digital euro
Privacy ranked the most important feature for future digital euro
Privacy ranked the most important feature for future digital euro
More than two-thirds of respondents acknowledge the importance of intermediaries providing innovative services that allow access to a digital euro and indicate that it should be integrated into existing banking and payment systems. They would like additional services provided on top of basic digital euro payments.
·finextra.com·
Privacy ranked the most important feature for future digital euro
Macau Moves Step Closer to Digital Currency in Threat to Casinos
Macau Moves Step Closer to Digital Currency in Threat to Casinos
The government of Macau reportedly plans to amend laws to regulate the issuance of a virtual legal tender, and will work with the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to study the feasibility of issuing a digital currency. The aim would be to improve effectiveness in reducing money laundering, tax evasion and terrorism financing.
·scmp.com·
Macau Moves Step Closer to Digital Currency in Threat to Casinos
The Central Bank of Russia releases plans for digitizing national payments by 2023
The Central Bank of Russia releases plans for digitizing national payments by 2023
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) released a comprehensive strategy for the next three years of payments development in the country. Prominent among the CBR's strategy is an emphasis on its digital ruble. The CBR is planning for open APIs that will allow the digital ruble to integrate with any other private payment platform, and for the platform to offer offline functionality. It expects an initial prototype to be ready by end-2021, to be followed by initial pilots in 2022, and an implementaion roadmap by end-2022. https://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=9761
·theblockcrypto.com·
The Central Bank of Russia releases plans for digitizing national payments by 2023
China may test digital yuan with foreign visitors at Beijing Olympics
China may test digital yuan with foreign visitors at Beijing Olympics
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will reportedly try to make it possible for foreign athletes and visitors to use its e-CNY central bank digital currency (CBDC) during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Deputy governor Li Bo also reportedly said the aim of the e-CNY is not to replace the U.S. dollar’s dominance on the international stage, although in the long term the PBOC hopes to have a cross border solution as well.
·cnbc.com·
China may test digital yuan with foreign visitors at Beijing Olympics
Bank of England statement on Central Bank Digital Currency
Bank of England statement on Central Bank Digital Currency
The Bank of England and the U.K. Treasury announced the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce that will (i) coordinate exploration of CBDC objectives, use cases, opportunities and risks, (ii) guide evaluation of the design features, and (iii) support a rigorous, coherent and comprehensive assessment of the overall use case. Also, the Bank of England established a CBDC Unit, and created a CBDC Engagement Forum to engage senior stakeholders and gather strategic input on all non-technology aspects of CBDC, and a CBDC Technology Forum to gather input on all technology aspects of CBDC.
·bankofengland.co.uk·
Bank of England statement on Central Bank Digital Currency
Norges Bank will test technical solutions for central bank digital currency
Norges Bank will test technical solutions for central bank digital currency
In line with the recommendations of an internal working group, Norges Bank will test various technical solutions for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) over the next two years. One of the aims of technical testing is to find a preferred solution if it becomes relevant to introduce a CBDC in Norway. Any introduction of a CBDC will still lie some time in the future. The consultative report is currently available in Norwegian only, but an English translation will be published soon.
·norges-bank.no·
Norges Bank will test technical solutions for central bank digital currency