CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currencies

China’s crypto ban is part of a global battle over freedom and ideology, writes Michael B. Greenwald. How can the US lead the world in a different path?

While a US digital dollar is stuck at pole position, China’s digital yuan is nearing the finish line. Michael B. Greenwald of Tiedemann Advisors explains why it matters to the future global economy.  

Ripple’s win in Bhutan comes as it suffers a setback in a US court as judge rebuffs Ripple’s request for SEC’s internal trading decisions over XRP.

Amid the country’s ongoing Senate inquiry into crypto regulation, the Reserve Bank of Australia has posted a job advertisement for a position within its central bank digital currency research team. Fast facts A successful applicant would join a new cross-disciplinary team to research “whether there is a case for a CBDC in Australia, and if […]

It’s hard to move forward on a CBDC when those in charge can’t agree. Is time running out for an American digital dollar?

As governments and citizens embrace digital currencies of all kinds, from Bitcoin to CBDCs, here’s what the world and daily life could look like.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub together with the central banks of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa today announced they will be collaborating to test the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for international settlements. Fast facts According to a joint statement, the pilot is part of Project Dunbar, a wholesale […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Does TBD stand for Twitter Boss Decision? NFTs’ ballooning interest. How billions in e-yuan are coursing through China.

Nigeria, a country with one of the world’s highest cryptocurrency adoption rates, is moving ahead with its plan for a central bank digital currency pilot project called Project Giant. The Central Bank of Nigeria has selected Bitt Inc., a Barbados-based fintech startup, as its technical partner for the project, which is scheduled to launch on […]

Tens of billions in digital yuan circulate through the banks’ systems, as leaders encourage wider adoption.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced 15 finalists for its “Global CBDC Challenge” — a competition to develop retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) solutions to improve payment services and promote financial inclusion. Fast facts According to MAS, the Global CBDC Challenge attracted over 300 submissions from more than 50 countries, with over […]

China’s high penetration of smartphones, digital-savvy population helps reduce e-CNY testing time, observers say

Cryptocurrency and other digital assets are expected to rival or displace fiat currencies within the next decade, according to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey. Fast facts More than three quarters of the 1,280 executives and practitioners surveyed by Deloitte, the global consulting, tax services and auditing firm, think that digital assets “will serve as a […]

The Bank of Thailand today published the results of its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) study and public survey, which the central bank says will guide the development of the country’s CBDC pilot test. Fast facts The Bank of Thailand underscored that a CBDC for the general public “must not adversely affect monetary policy […]

Samsung Electronics will participate in the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency pilot program to test the practicalities of digital currency remittances without internet availability, according to a report by the Korea Times. Fast facts An unnamed source familiar with the issue told the Korea Times: “Samsung Electronics has recently decided to participate in […]

Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez has indicated he is open to adopting Bitcoin as legal tender and a central bank digital currency, according to a media report yesterday, just two days after the head of the country’s central bank, Miguel Pesce, described cryptocurrencies as a threat to economic stability. Fast facts During an interview with media outlet Caja […]

As African countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa continue to explore the feasibility of central bank digital currencies, the Bank of Ghana is set to launch a retail CBDC pilot project, the bank has announced. Fast facts For the pilot, the central bank has partnered with German firm Giesecke+Devrient, which will provide […]

E-commerce company’s tie-up with government-owned lender suggests hybrid private-state future for central bank digital currency.

The Business Administration Department at China’s central bank has said it will push forward pilots of the e-CNY digital currency in the Winter Olympics area to cover all payment scenarios. Fast facts To promote the digital yuan for the Winter Games, two batches of e-CNY red packets were distributed in Beijing in February and June, totaling 50,000,000 yuan […]

Since its launch in October 2020, Cambodia’s central bank digital currency project, Bakong, has reached 5.9 million users across the country, according to a report by Nikkei Asia. Fast facts The figure includes users of member bank mobile apps, with the number of Bakong electronic wallet addresses doubling in June from three months before to […]

In an effort to curb runaway inflation, Venezuela’s central bank is removing six zeros from its currency and putting a digital bolivar into circulation on Oct. 1, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Fast facts An example of a central bank digital currency, the digital bolivar was announced by the Venezuelan central bank’s Twitter account yesterday […]

Ethereum upgrade closely watched also India launches e-RUPI voucher

The next half decade will see mass adoption of decentralized technology, writes Max Kordek of Lisk. Here are the leading uses.

People’s Bank of China vows to keep sector under ‘heavy pressure’ as it pushes digital yuan.

A digital yuan wallet app launched by China’s central bank will include an electricity bill payment feature designed by the country’s State Grid, according to Economic Information Daily, a local financial media outlet.  Fast facts Users will be able to pay their electricity bills through the digital yuan app directly and do not need to […]

China’s largest telecommunications company, China Mobile, has disclosed a patent on a virtual currency management system that can prevent the theft of hot-wallet keys. Fast facts The system achieves theft-prevention by separating the hot-wallet server interacting directly with a public data server via a system wallet server. The patent disclosure shows that China Mobile filed […]

Central bank in apparent push for adoption ahead of Olympics as it doubles up on warning over non-state cryptocurrencies.

In a new report, BIS says countries must work together and design CBDCs with interoperability in mind. Hong Kong and Singapore lead mCBDC efforts.

Eddie Yue, CEO of Hong Kong Monetary Authority lays out the future of the territory’s digital currency at a Hong Kong Academy of Finance event.

Adoption of e-CNY for urban transport networks marks first step in wider introduction of state-backed digital money.

In the last installment of a 3-part series on blockchain in Asia, Forkast.News examines: Everyone knows money has value. But does it also have ‘values’?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is inviting proposals for retail central bank digital currency innovations to improve payment services.

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

Urged on by the authorities, banks have wasted little time in putting e-CNY infrastructure in place, but now comes the hard part — getting people to use it.

Following Israel’s recent tests of a digital shekel, the Palestinian Monetary Authority is looking to launch its own central bank digital currency.

The Bank of Israel is testing its central bank digital currency, the digital Shekel, in a private permissioned ecosystem using Ethereum.

In a new report, Bank for International Settlements extols central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the future of money. Will CBDCs replace Bitcoin someday?

France’s central bank has successfully completed a central bank digital currency experiment involving the settlement of listed securities with Switzerland’s SEBA Bank.

CBDC ATMs appear around Beijing and Hong Kong-based Amber Group is Asia’s billion dollar unicorn after raising US$100 million in its Series B.

Two of China’s largest state-owned banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), are now offering two-way exchange between fiat cash yuan and e-CNY digital currency through more than 3,000 ATMs in Beijing, according to reports in local media.  Over 3,000 ATMs in Beijing managed by ICBC […]

Money may be easy to part with when it’s free, but as Shanghai’s first experimental e-CNY giveaway shows, it’s not so easy finding shops to take it.

In a recent conference, central bankers from Cambodia and Singapore discuss how digital currencies are transforming existing payment systems for the better.

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) is partnering with enterprise software firm R3 on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sandbox.

China’s central bank has unveiled four specifications of digital wallets for the country’s state-issued digital currency, the e-CNY.

The BIS, together with the central banks of France and Switzerland, are collaborating on a wholesale central bank digital currency experiment for cross-border settlements.

Hong Kong looks to explore CBDC feasibility as Australian millennials favor investing in crypto over traditional assets.

Shijingshan, a site for the upcoming Winter Olympics, has started supporting payments made using the state digital money, known as e-CNY.

Hong Kong will be initiating a study on a digital Hong Kong dollar as part of its plans to “future proof” the city for central bank digital currencies.

China has released guidelines aimed at boosting the country’s blockchain development.

Following a digital yuan giveaway announced for Beijing last week, Shanghai will distribute 350,000 red envelopes to people across the city during next week’s Dragon Boat Festival.

Regulators Hainan province have issued a warning against illegal fundraising schemes using crypto or blockchain..

China is set to hand out 200,000 virtual red envelopes, each containing 200 yuan (US$31.30) of the country’s prototype digital currency, to Beijing residents.

Former People’s Bank of China Director Yao Qian says that the country’s digital yuan is not a surveillance tool for the government.

The U.S. dollar reigns supreme as the current world reserve currency. Could the USD’s status change with the rise of CBDCs like China’s DCEP digital yuan?

Cashless payment methods are on the rise as governments step up central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) initiatives.

Investors are turning to green alternatives to tackle Bitcoin’s impact on the environment as Indonesia gears up for a CBDC.

Indonesia is planning to launch a digital version of its national currency, central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday.

Kicking the digital won’s development into higher gear, Bank of Korea is calling for bids to be a technology supplier for its digital currency (CBDC) project.

Former CFTC chairman Chris Giancarlo and Accenture’s David Treat are not in a CBDC race, but a ‘contest’ to develop money that reflects societal values.

As Singapore builds Project Dunbar, a cross-border multiple-CBDC platform, its government dives into DeFi learning and ponders a CBDC for the masses.

It’s only a matter of time that digital currency ‘is going to overshadow all the other forms of money,’ says Neeraj Khandelwal of CoinDCX.

Global US dollar reserves touched a 25-year low in Q4 2020, according to a new IMF report. Will a digital euro and e-RMB muscle in?

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: How Dogecoin copycat SHIB coin vaulted into crypto’s top 20. China unveils fingerprint ID for digital yuan.

While Bitcoin Cash surges, we visit a Japanese coffee shop owner who just started accepting BCH as payment.

China intensifies its nationwide digital currency testing via JD.com paying employee salaries in digital yuan and Ant Group’s MYbank offering e-yuan services.

China’s internet giant Ant Group shares its OceanBase database for the e-CNY project. More investors try out DeFi platform PancakeSwap.

When Diem launches and central banks roll out digital currencies, what role will each play? Here is a look at the world’s financial and payments future.

One year after China unveiled a digital currency via testing, its potential for displacing dollar diplomacy is becoming more understood. Is the US worried yet?

Look for nifty DCEP wallets to make a debut at the 2022 Beijing Olympics

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Cuban are behind the 8th largest crypto Dogecoin. Meanwhile, it’s the one-year anniversary of DCEP pilots.

Macao jumps into digital yuan feasibility studies while South Korean banks make moves to curb kimchi premium arbitrage.

Despite launching CBDC research, Bank of Japan is still not sure nation needs digital yen. Experts fear the caution could cost Japan its competitive edge.