CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currencies

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee announced last Friday that it will discuss a new bill to prevent the issuance of a CBDC.

It has been more than a year since Nepal’s central bank, the Nepal Rastra Bank, initiated amendments to the law to enable the issuance of the digital version of the Nepalese rupee. What is the status of its CBDC?

Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man from India, said on Monday that his Reliance Industries Ltd. is exploring blockchain-based platforms and central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

Australian banks are heightening scrutiny on digital asset exchanges and restricting crypto payments due to rising scams and frauds. Caroline Bowler, CEO of BTC Markets highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by the industry in the country.

Recently proposed by Singapore in collaboration with fintech heavy hitters, PBM can be a powerful tool for promoting accountability and efficiency, writes Anndy Lian. But it’s not without risks.

Mainland tourists can now shop in Hong Kong with Chinese CBDC, as part of a digital yuan shopping festival launched this week by the Bank of China (Hong Kong).

Scrutiny on the stablecoin’s reserves has intensified since USDT’s latest depegging scare. Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether and Bitfinex, delves into the composition of USDT reserves, explaining how the firm ensures dollar redemptions, irrespective of secondary market prices.

Welcome to Forkast IQ, presented by Angie Lau, where we look beyond the headlines to get you insights that power smarter decisions. Coming up on today’s show:

Kapoor founded the India Blockchain Alliance five years ago and gives an update on how the technology is being used in police reports to real estate transactions, as well as challenges of CBDC adoption and plans for tokenization of assets. He spoke in an interview for Forkast IQ.

The European Commission released two proposals on Wednesday, one for the digital euro, the ECB’s CBDC, and a legislative proposal to safeguard the role of cash.

The Shanghai Clearing House started digital yuan clearing and settlement services for trading in commodities on Monday.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released on Wednesday a whitepaper for “purpose bound” money, detailing a technical overview of digital currencies designed for specific purposes.

Central banks need to agree on a common global platform and rules to ensure international use of CBDCs, IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva said.

Banco Central do Brasil, the central bank of Brazil, has selected 14 institutions to participate in the pilot run of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) named Real Digital.

The launch of Hong Kong’s very own CBDC comes with new regulations for crypto trading platforms operating in the city.

Stablecoins are a key part of the crypto ecosystem, but banks like JPMorgan are now exploring deposit tokens as an alternative. Which is better, and why?

Investors remain cautious as U.S. debt talks continue despite slowing inflation and large NFT purchases.

Ripple Labs has launched a new payment platform for a central bank digital currency in Hong Kong.

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell on Friday morning in Asia. XRP gained after Hong Kong CBDC announcement by issuer Ripple.

Rollout of the central bank digital currency in Hong Kong is a potential game-changer and a move that others may soon look to follow.

China’s Jiangsu Province plans to expand the use of digital yuan to its public education system, as the province seeks to spearhead the country’s CBDC pilot.

The U.S. is resisting digitization of the dollar due to it being a threat to the country’s dominance over traditional financial system, said Christopher Giancarlo, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and author of “Crypto Dad: Fight for the Future of Money.”

In the second installment of a three-part interview series, Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research and EM FX West at Standard Chartered Bank, talks altcoins, stablecoins and the legitimization of crypto risk through central bank digital assets.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Coinbase in court to force SEC’s hand. PEPE surge lifts memecoin mood. China paves CBDC path with payroll.

State employees in China’s Changshu City will receive their salaries in digital yuan from May, as China’s CBDC expands in daily uses.

Nasdaq-listed Equinix and Indonesian conglomerate Astra International have set up a joint venture to help local businesses and multinationals capitalize on emerging technologies.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said the digital euro would have “limited control” in a prank call.

India is reportedly aiming to have one million users of its CBDC within three months of launch, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk. 

Japan’s Finance Ministry is reportedly planning to launch an expert panel next month to assess the feasibility of issuing a digital yen, according to NHK.

Russia has postponed the trial of a digital ruble originally scheduled for April 1, as it awaits a regulatory framework to be adopted before the pilot, according to a report by state-owned news agency TASS.

The Indian central bank and the UAE will jointly run pilot programs on their central bank digital currencies, according to the Reserve Bank of India. 

WeChat, China’s leading social networking and payment app, has integrated the digital yuan into its payment network, which may help adoption of the CBDC.

Critics fear CBDCs could mean the end of cryptocurrencies, and an increasing number of countries are racing to develop their own.

Australia has outlined potential use cases and providers for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with a pilot program to be launched in the coming months.

China is promoting digital yuan to Hong Kong visitors, but has not received much enthusiasm so far.

A U.S. central bank digital currency would “crowd out” the cryptocurrency ecosystem and protect national security, according to an ex-top presidential adviser.

Japan will start a pilot programme to test the use of a digital yen in April, joining a growing number of countries seeking to launch their own CBDCs.

The UK and Europe are following suit in trying to regulate crypto. Just how far along have they come and what more do they have in store?

The United Arab Emirates plans to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), among other initiatives, to become a financial and digital payment hub.

Governments are pushing central bank digital currencies to exert more control over macro policy, writes Josef Tětek of Trezor. But your money and privacy are also at stake.

Indian retail giant Reliance Retail announced on Thursday that it has started accepting digital rupee payments to become the largest Indian firm to adopt the nation’s CBDC.

The future global financial system will be reliant on the cloud, especially when it comes to CBDCs and stablecoins, writes Michael Greenwald and Logan Weber.

Digital yuan sales at online retail platforms in China have surged during the Lunar New Year holidays fueled by local governments’ red packet coupons.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Genesis bankruptcy begins. FTX chief ponders a reboot. China’s CBDC gets a smart-contract upgrade.

The Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN), which aims to offer interoperability between regulated stablecoins and CBDCs, was launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

NFTs, tokenization and blockchain-based cross-border payments will see big paradigm shifts, but their success will depend on regulation, investment and adoption, writes Stephen Richardson of Fireblocks.

Immunefi founder Mitchell Amador believes the future security risks of CBDCs will highlight the benefits of DeFi.

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) development and interest are growing rapidly worldwide but regulatory issues remain a challenge, especially for cross-border CBDC transactions.  But German technology company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) – winner of Best Technology Award in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Global Fast Track CBDC 2022 competition during the city’s FinTech Week in November – […]

Stablecoins in USD are becoming the digital world’s default currency — which burdens ordinary crypto users and monetary policies in smaller nations, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) claimed it needs the authority to monitor and supervise stablecoins, according to the South Korean central bank’s report published on Monday.

Indonesia’s central bank has released a whitepaper detailing plans for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), as the country looks to “advance digital transformation.”

The Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, will conduct experiments with three megabanks and regional banks on a digital yen, according to a report by Nikkei on Wednesday. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has partnered The New York Innovation Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to study if wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) can make cross-border payments more efficient.

CBDCs are the latest fad amongst central banks around the world – but how can they change our lives?

Central bank digital currencies draw fire over inflation, privacy and threat to innovation, as questions raised over status of stablecoins in digital asset ecosystem.

How can collaboration help advance digital age and blockchain technologies?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) wants to build the city-state into a “crypto hub” fueled by instant settlements, tokenized assets and programmable money, not “speculating in cryptocurrencies,” Ravi Menon, the central bank’s managing director, said at the Singapore FinTech Festival on Thursday. 

The MAS launched Project Ubin+ on Thursday, a collaborative initiative with international partners to explore cross-border foreign exchange settlements using wholesale CBDC.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged all Group of 20 (G20) nations, as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund and Financial Stability Board, to come together to help regulate crypto assets. See related article: India’s finance minister sees 46% growth in blockchain technology use in next few years Fast facts Sitharaman […]

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched a new project with the central banks of Singapore, France and Switzerland to study the possibility of integrating some decentralized finance (DeFi) features with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). See related article: mBridge participants to end domestic payments of foreign CBDCs Fast facts The BIS announced on […]

Singapore-based StraitsX, a payments infrastructure for digital assets, will pilot stablecoin applications at the ongoing Singapore Fintech Festival. 

Bank of Thailand’s Vachira Arromdee said on Tuesday the four central banks in the mBridge CBDC trials agreed to end use of foreign CBDCs domestically.

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will pilot the country’s first digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) from Nov. 1 and has identified nine banks for participation in the trial. 

Hong Kong reveals digital asset policies to distinguish itself from China, where cryptocurrency trading was banned in September last year.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan [NKB] will be testing the integration of their central bank digital currency (CBDC) on the BNB Chain.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Aptos launch falls short. Why FTX chief is calling for crypto regulations. Is Hong Kong paving way for a retail CBDC?

The BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre has completed its CBDC study, Project Aurum, which examined the feasibility of intermediated CBDCs and CBDC-backed stablecoins.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Mark Zuckerberg’s empty metaverse. South Korea to roll out blockchain IDs. Macau bets on digital money.

The city of Macau, a special administrative region of China and home to a thriving casino industry, is seeking to grant digital currency status as legal tender, the Executive Council of Macau announced on Friday. See related article: Macao needs China’s heft in tech to introduce CBDC, official says  Fast facts See related article: Macao […]

Companies in Shenzhen in mainland China made up one-third of the transaction volume in a cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) bridge pilot project, according to a report by Chinese media outlet 21Caijing, citing Shenzhen’s local financial authority. See related article: Australia Senator proposes regulating Chinese banks in country using e-CNY  Fast facts See related […]

Despite India’s repeated warnings against cryptocurrencies, crypto exchange giants WazirX remain hopeful of a digital rupee.

Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX will look to integrate India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) “if all goes well,” vice president Rajagopal Menon told Forkast in a video interview on Monday.  See related article: RBI to begin CBDC pilots, outlines wholesale, retail concepts Fast facts “We would love to onboard the e-rupee and you can buy your […]