The central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Africa will reportedly launch a trial program to test cross-border payments employing different CBDCs. Their mission: to determine whether the move would enable more accessible transactions. The Multinational Partnership Central bank digital currencies appear to be an attractive financial instrument for numerous countries across the globe...Read More
According to recent research, every third British citizen fears that a potential digital pound could bring more harm than benefits to the UK economic system. In contrast, 24% believe the so-called Britcoin would turn to be a successful financial instrument. Britcoin Brings More Suspicion Than Excitement The US journalism company Politico surveyed 2,500 British adults to...Read More
As cryptocurrency adoption enters a mainstream stage, traditional financial services platforms are trying to adapt to the changing financial ecosystem. To maintain their importance in this industry, payment processors like Mastercard and Visa intend to use their large client base and international reach to attract both government and private entities when they are testing their...Read More
The Vice President of Ghana – Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia – opined that embracing cryptocurrencies would be beneficial for the trade sector on the African continent. He believes that digitization is the tool that will help the economies to revive again after the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Currencies Can Improve Trade During the...Read More
After four years of research, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will finally roll out a pilot program for its own digital currency on October 1st, 2021. The CBDC project, named “GIANT,” will run on the modular blockchain framework Hyperledger Fabric. Nigeria Does Not Want to Fall Behind During a recent webinar, the Central Bank...Read More
Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker, and Cynthia Lummis have urged the U.S. Olympic Committee to forbid any usage of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) at next year’s event in Beijing. The lawmakers expressed concern over spying and espionage in a letter to Susanne Lyons, board chair of the U.S. Olympic Committee, on Monday, according to...Read More
The Japanese government intends to put stablecoins under strict regulation as some authorities consider them a threat to the country’s financial stability. At the same time, the Bank of Japan aims to issue a digital yen that it sees as a safer alternative to private virtual currencies. Japan’s Next Crypto Move According to Reuters, three...Read More
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Jerome Powell, said today that the country is working on a publisher’s report on digital currencies. The Fed Chair said that the incoming report would focus on digital payments “broadly.” Per his words, this also includes stablecoins, crypto-assets, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). We’re...Read More
The European Central Bank will start an investigation phase of a digital euro project, which will last 24 months after years of dabbling with the idea. The organization promised privacy protection and also lower energy consumption than Bitcoin. Although the idea of a central bank digital currency has floated around for years, the ECB has...Read More
Fan Yifei – a deputy governor of China’s central bank – expressed concerns that digital currencies, particularly stablecoins, could negatively impact the global financial system. Furthermore, he described the assets as “speculation tools.” PBoC Is ‘Quite Worried’ In a recent interview, the ex-Chairman of Shanghai Bank and a current deputy governor of the People’s Bank...Read More
François Villeroy de Galhau – the head of the French central bank – sounded a note of caution that Europe’s monetary sovereignty faces tough times if the EU does not regulate cryptocurrencies. Without hasty action, the international role of the euro would be endangered. ‘Europe Must Be Ready’ At the annual financial conference in Paris,...Read More
New York Federal Reserve Bank President – John Williams – opined that the rapid development of virtual assets challenges the central banks’ desire to launch their own CBDCs. He advised policymakers to consider how cryptocurrencies would work efficiently alongside physical cash. Crypto Raises Questions for Central Banks John Williams – the president and CEO of...Read More
Elvira Nabiullina – the Chief of Russia’s Central Bank – sounded a note of caution for investors to beware of the risks in the crypto market. She opined that digital assets are very volatile and warned investors to be wary of ”appalling” losses. Do Not Get Involved in Crypto The head of the Russian Central...Read More
Cryptocurrencies are back in the geopolitical scenario. The Palestinian Monetary Authority is reportedly working on issuing a digital currency as a strategy to achieve a higher level of financial independence. This effort would put Palestine on the same list as other nations like Venezuela, the Marshall Islands, the Bahamas, China, and the latest endeavors of El...Read More
The BIS, which is often called the central bank to the world’s central banks, set out recommendations on June 23 as to how a CBDC should be. It estimated that around 56 central banks and monetary authorities around the world are now looking at digitizing their currencies as commerce shifts online, as reported by Reuters....Read More
America is not lagging behind in the crypto race During the last hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Service, Rep. Maxine Waters (D) announced the creation of a working group aimed at studying and regulating the crypto industry. “As Cryptocurrencies grow exponentially, I have organized a working group of Democratic members to engage...Read More
Residents of the Chinese capital will receive 40 million renminbi ($6.2 million) of the digital currency. They can use two banking apps to apply to win one of the 200,000 so-called ”red packets”, each containing 200 yuan, as part of a lottery. Simultaneously, the governor of Russia’s central bank called digital currencies the future of...Read More
Bank of Indonesia joins the efforts of global central banks as it plans to launch a digital rupiah currency. Governor Perry Warjiyo confirmed the news and informed that the institution is yet to decide which platform to use. CBDC in Indonesia During the COVID-19 pandemic, the island nation of Indonesia saw a significant boom in...Read More
South Korea announced plans to establish a pilot program examining the possibility of developing and launching a digital version of the won. The country’s central bank will focus on how the CBDC will work with mobile payment transactions, internet banking, saving accounts, transferring funds, and more. South Korea CBDC Pushes Forward According to a recent...Read More
Korea’s central bank is looking to move forward with the implementation of a central bank digital currency at a slow but sure pace. According to information revealed by the Korea Herald on Monday, May 24, 2021, the Bank of Korea is working on implementing a virtual environment that would allow to evaluate, control and test...Read More
Edward Chancellor – a British journalist and financial historian, explained that the first central bank digital currencies are likely to raise inflation which can lead to the destruction of Bitcoin. He agreed that CBDCs are ”cool” but certainly not stable. CBDCs Would Mean The End Of BTC Nowadays, many central banks of numerous leading economies...Read More
People’s Bank of China and Alibaba Group’s affiliate Ant Group have joined forces to create a platform supporting the central bank digital currency. According to Global Times, PBoC has been working together with Ant and Tencent for the last three years on developing the e-CNY. A Move Towards e-CNY VOA News announced on May 3rd...Read More
The head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, recently gave his comments on the two largest cryptocurrencies – BTC and ETH. According to him, people nowadays need alternative coins for the new type of transactions, which may drive the price of ether up. CZ also predicted that many central bank digital currencies would be very different than...Read More
While urging investors to treat bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with caution, Deutsche Bank’s CIO, Christian Nolting, said the industry is “here to stay.” However, the executive sees the impending launch of CBDCs as a major threat to bitcoin in terms of serving as a currency. Instead, he outlined the asset’s similarities to gold and its...Read More
Six of the biggest banks in China’s megapolis Shanghai are supporting the digital yuan ahead of a May 5th shopping festival. The move represents a direct threat to the country’s top two payment providers – Alipay and WeChat Pay. The Digital Yuan vs. Alipay and WeChat Pay According to a Reuters report, some of the...Read More
Despite the massive interest from central banks for CBDCs, nearly 70% of the projects are running only pilot programs and are far away from an actual launch. The Bahamas and Cambodia are the leading countries in a ranking listed by PwC while the biggest economy in Asia – China lines up third. CBDCs Are Not...Read More
The Bank of Japan has officially kicked off experiments on a proof of concept for its central bank digital currency. The first testing phase is already live and should be completed by March 2022. BOJ Takes a Swing at CBDC Development Japan’s Central Bank has put its mind into issuing its own digital currency. The...Read More
When it comes down to developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), perhaps no country is more advanced than China. Upon carrying out several tests in recent months, the People’s Bank of China said that the interest in the innovative initiative is surging, but bitcoin could also have a vital role in that. BTC Behind...Read More
Bitcoin does not have a plausible claim to be the money of the future, according to the Deputy Governor of Canada’s Central Bank. During a recent speech in Montreal, Deputy Governor Timothy Lane remained skeptical about cryptocurrencies even in an increasingly digital economy, calling them “deeply flawed as methods of payment.” On the contrary, Lane...Read More
The Indian cryptocurrency scene is currently waiting on an imminent Crypto Bill, which may define the future of digital assets in the country. The situation is vastly different from 2019 as the current bill also includes the possible development of a Central Bank Digital Currency supported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With a...Read More
