“Nearly 21m (20.87m) personal and 3.51m corporate digital yuan wallets have so far been issued during China’s ongoing trials of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has revealed.  To date, the digital currency — also known as e-CNY — has been used to make nearly 71m transactions with an overall value of about 34.5bn yuan (US$ 5.33bn) and has been used “in over 1.32m scenarios, covering utility payment, catering service, transportation, shopping and government services,” PBOC says.”

“China’s central bank said on Friday it will explore cross-border payments in digital yuan, and is willing to discuss setting global standards for digital fiat currency to jointly develop the international monetary system. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will strengthen data security and personal information protection as it forges ahead with domestic testing of the digital yuan, it said in a white paper that is the first comprehensive disclosure of its plans.”

“The world’s first sovereign e-currency, the digital yuan has already been involved in transactions worth USD 300 million and can currently be traded for cash at more than 3,000 ATMs in Beijing. It has been in development since 2014 and is formally known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system. For now, the Chinese central bank is encouraging merchants in tier-1 cities’ popular tourist areas and business districts to utilize DCEP wallets.”

“Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said one of the stronger arguments for the U.S. central bank to set up a digital currency is that it could undercut the need for private alternatives such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Asked during a congressional hearing if having a digital currency issued by the Fed would be a more viable alternative than having multiple cryptocurrencies or stablecoins emerge in the payments system, Powell said he agreed. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that attempts to peg its value to a conventional currency such as the U.S. dollar.”

“Commercial banks will play “a very important role” in Sweden’s project to create a central bank digital currency despite concerns that it could erode traditional lenders’ deposit bases, according to a payment executive at Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ). Handelsbanken, Sweden’s largest bank by assets, has become the first commercial lender to join a project by the Swedish central bank, or Riksbank, to test a so-called “e-krona” — a digital version of cash. Governments around the world from Cambodia to China and the Bahamas are exploring central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, with about 60% of central banks conducting experiments or proofs of concept, and 14% moving to development and pilots, according to the Bank for International Settlements, a global body representing central banks.”

“The European Central Bank is set to give the green light on Wednesday to a multi-year project to create a digital version of the euro. An electronic equivalent of banknotes and coins, the digital euro will likely be a digital wallet that euro zone citizens can keep at the ECB. It is part of a drive by central banks to meet growing demand for electronic means of payment and tackle a boom in private sector digital currencies from Bitcoin to Facebook’s (FB.O) proposed Diem.”

“China, which has the world’s most advanced digital currency initiative, has distributed more than $40 million in red envelopes containing digital yuan thus far. The CBDC’s promotional effort is now focusing on five main cities, with regional development priorities in mind. The experimental implementation of the digital RMB, the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People’s Bank of China, is moving forward quickly in China. The project is now in its eighth year of development, including large-scale experiments across the mainland and cross-border tests with Hong Kong. It was first announced in 2014.”

“The Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank made a joint call on Friday for global cooperation on central bank digital currencies. Around 90% of the world’s central banks are currently looking at creating digital versions of their currencies, raising questions about how they will work and operate with each other.”

“The Ukrainian parliament considers the European country’s possible central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be functionally similar to cash or other payment tools. The Verkhovna Rada, the governing body of Ukraine, passed a law regulating payment methods on Wednesday. The new law on payment services contains just a brief mention of the future CBDC, but it officially puts the yet-to-be-launched electronic hryvnia (Ukraine’s national currency) on par with cash, bank accounts and electronic payments.”

“Russia’s central bank named 12 banks that will be involved in the initial testing of the nation’s future central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, the regulator announced Wednesday. The list includes the largest credit organizations of Russia, including Sberbank, VTB, Alfa Bank, Gazprombank, and Tinkoff. Previously, the Bank of Russia said it was planning to develop a prototype of the digital ruble by December and start piloting it next year . It’s not clear yet if the project will be built on a blockchain, and, if so, on which one. The initial concept of the digital ruble, published in October 2020, did not mention specific technological solutions and provided a list of options of how the project should be implemented.”

“While central bank digital currencies are still years away in most countries, a project in central Europe that focuses on large commercial banks could provide a faster way to market. Called Project Jura , it includes the Banque de France, the Swiss National Bank, Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and private-sector banks including Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group. Banque de France will issue a euro wholesale version of a central bank digital currency, which will be swapped for a Swiss Franc wholesale CBDC from the Swiss National Bank as part of the test over the next few months.”

“Customers of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China can now exchange cash for digital yuan and vice versa at more than 3,000 ATMs across Beijing, China, according to a report by the Xinhua news agency.”

“The Federal Reserve is trying to figure out how to keep cash relevant in a cashless world. It’s considering digitizing the U.S. dollar, giving people money they can access on their phone and bypassing electronic payments that can be slow and costly for businesses.”

“The Bank for International Settlements has firmly thrown its weight behind the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), billing the monetary shift as a public good against the twin evils of Big Tech and bitcoin. Central bank interest in CBDCs comes at a critical time. Several recent developments have placed a number of potential innovations involving digital currencies high on the agenda. The first of these is the growing attention received by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies; the second is the debate on stablecoins; and the third is the entry of large technology firms into payment services and financial services more generally.”

“China Construction Bank (CCB) is piloting a biometric ‘hard wallet’ smart card that lets customers store digital yuan and authenticate payments made using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) with their fingerprint.   The bank has already launched a digital yuan wallet app and the NFC-enabled biometric smart card will enable holders to use the digital currency without needing access to a smartphone.”

“The introduction of a digital euro would boost consumers’ privacy and protect the eurozone from the “threat” of competing cryptocurrencies that could undermine the bloc’s monetary sovereignty, according to the central banker overseeing its development. Fabio Panetta, an executive board member at the European Central Bank, told the Financial Times that one of the project’s key aims was to combat the spread of digital coins created by other nations and companies. “If the central bank gets involved in digital payments, privacy is going to be better protected . . . because we are not like private companies,” he said. “We have no commercial interest in storing, managing or monetising the data of users.””

“China’s Xiong’an New Area, a district that is located about 60 miles southwest of Beijing and that serves as a testing ground for new economic ideas, has started using the digital yuan, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to pay some workers. In a statement Saturday, the Xiong’an government described the digital yuan pilot as the nation’s first “on-chain” payment being used for builders’ wages.Xiong’an said the Shijiazhuang branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the reform and development bureau of Xiong’an’s management committee were involved in guiding and supporting the project.”

“During the first quarter, the Bank for International Settlements ( BIS ) surveyed 50 central banks about the potential use of central bank digital currencies ( CBDC ) for cross border payments. The indecisive results indicate it’s still early days, especially since most countries have yet to decide whether to launch a CBDC. But it looks like CBDCs might trigger greater foreign exchange controls. One area where there was slightly more clarity was whether countries would allow incoming foreign visitors to use the local retail CBDC while visiting, as they would with physical cash. Only 29% of respondents had a clear view, made up of 25% saying visitors can use the CBDC, and 4% saying no. This is a relatively simple decision because it maps to current habits. There was far greater concern about allowing retail CBDC usage outside of the country because of a lack of control.”

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to launch its own digital currency by the of 2021, Rakiya Mohammed, the bank’s IT specialist said on Thursday in Lagos. Ms Mohammed’s disclosure follows the conclusion of the Bankers Committee meeting. According to her, the apex bank has for over two years been exploring the technology and has made tremendous progress. “Before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be making a special announcement and possibly launching a pilot scheme in order to be able to provide this kind of currency to the populace,” she said. Ms Mohammed said when eventually  operational, the currency would complement cash notes. The official said another reason the apex bank plans to come up with digital currency  is to make remittances travel easier from abroad to Nigeria.”

“The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) is pushing for more time on the rollout of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). BCB told CoinDesk via email the timeframe for the adoption of a Brazilian CBDC depended on the evolution of the bank’s current projects and the international landscape. “According to the current BCB assessment, the conditions for the adoption of a Brazilian CBDC will be achieved in two to three years,” the bank said. CBDCs are digital versions of a nation’s currency issued by a central financial authority.”

“The Federal Reserve establishing a “digital dollar” could transform the nation’s payment systems, though much work is needed before it’s achievable, according to experts, but Republicans and Democrats are divided as to whether it’s good idea at all. Lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee’s economic policy subcommittee and a panel of experts discussed the potential for a central bank digital currency at a hearing Wednesday. A central bank digital currency is a widely used digital representation of a country’s sovereign currency issued by and as a liability of a jurisdiction’s central bank or other monetary authority.”

“China’s digital yuan wallets are designed to ensure everyone can use them and in different formats, according to Mu Changchun, director general of the central bank’s Digital Currency Research Institute. The e-yuan can be stored in various kinds of wallets, including physical or digital, and personal or public ones, Mu said Friday at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai. The wallets are designed to satisfy different demands, with users able to apply for them based on their credit limits, purposes of use, or preferences for a physical one or a digital one, he said.”

“As the UK joins the list of global players considering issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC), with the Bank of England taking practical steps to explore possible costs and benefits earlier this week, one crucial hurdle lies in the level of transnational utilisation they’d be able to guarantee, a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) advisor and a senior Bank of England specialist said. One element of particular note concerns the possibility for non-residents to hold a country’s retail CBDC, said Ross Leckow, senior fintech advisor at the BIS Innovation Hub while speaking at BAFT’s annual global meeting.”

“The U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy will be holding a hearing titled, “Building A Stronger Financial System: Opportunities of a Central Bank Digital Currency”. On October 4, 2019, Congressman French Hill (R-AR) and Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) wrote a bi-partisan letter displaying interest in Congress that the Federal Reserve seriously consider a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or ‘digital dollar’ for the United States. In March of this year, Hill and Foster followed up on their initial bi-partisan initiative in 2019 with the introduction of H.R. 2211 titled the Central Bank Digital Currency Study Act of 2021.”

“The Swiss National Bank and the Bank of France will trial Europe’s first cross-border central bank digital currency payments, the banks said on Thursday, a move that will be a first for two of the world’s top currencies. The experiment will focus on the bank-to-bank ‘wholesale’ lending market rather than everyday public transactions but will be the first time a digital euro and Swiss franc have been fully tested. Switzerland’s UBS (UBSG.S) , Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and France’s Natixis (CNAT.PA) are involved in the project, along with Swiss bourse operator SIX Digital Exchange, fintech firm R3 and the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements.”

“As central banks around the globe explore whether to issue central bank digital currencies, there is a growing recognition that CBDCs involve very significant real-world trade-offs. While recognizing that CBDC proposals are often driven by laudable goals, the American Bankers Association today cautioned that the introduction of a CBDC could “fundamentally change the role of the central bank in the United States and reshape the banking system.” In a statement for the record of a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing, ABA noted that choosing between the various CBDC designs requires “serious and complex policy tradeoffs” and that too often CBDC proponents take a “highlight reel” approach to describing CBDC, “cherry picking all the perceived benefits, while downplaying the serious risks to consumers and our financial system.””