Companies

Swift Planning Launch of New Central Bank Digital Currency Platform in 12-24 Months

Reuters

“Global bank messaging network SWIFT is planning a new platform in the next one to two years to connect the wave of central bank digital currencies now in development to the existing finance system, it has told Reuters.”

Tags: SWIFT

Companies

Project Aurum 2.0: Improving Privacy for Retail CBDCPayment

BIS

“The BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong centre has launched the second phase of Project Aurum, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Project Aurum 2.0 will now focus on how to enhance privacy for retail central bank digital currencies (CBDC).”

Tags: Bank for International Settlements

Industry

BRICS Will Create Payment System Based on Digital Currencies and Blockchain

Coindesk

“The five-nation BRICS group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will work on creating a payment system based on blockchain and digital technologies, a report by Russian news agency TASS said.”

Global

The Fed Is Falling Behind as Other Central Banks Leap Ahead on Digital Currencies

Atlantic Council

“This will be a year of divergence between the world’s major central banks. The source of this division won’t be interest rates or quantitative easing—it will be technology.”

Companies

R3 Launches New DLT Product Suite

R3

“R3 has launched R3 Digital Markets, the new suite of end-to-end digital solutions that helps firms to adopt and drive value from digital assets and digital currencies, whilst preparing for the future of regulated markets, from initial exploration to full scale production.”

Tags: R3

Companies

BIS Innovation Hub Announces First Six Projects for 2024 Work Programme

BIS

“The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today announced the first batch of six new projects in its 2024 Innovation Hub work programme, including experimentations on cyber security, fighting financial crime, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and green finance.”

Tags: Bank for International Settlements

Systems

China Uses Digital RMB for Gold, Iron Cross Border Payments

Ledger Insights

“Yesterday the Chinese press reported that China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital RMB was used for cross border precious metal payments. The Bank of China worked with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to enable the settlement of a 100 million RMB ($14m) gold trade.”

Tags: Central bank digital currencies (CBDC)

Systems

Fnality Completes "World's First" Blockchain Payments at Bank of England

Reuters

“Fnality, a blockchain-based wholesale payments firm, said on Thursday that shareholders Lloyds Banking Group, Santander and UBS had completed the ‘world’s first’ live transactions that digitally represent funds held at a central bank.”

Tags: Digital currencies

Global

Reserve Bank of India Opens Talks With US, Hong Kong for Cross-Border CBDC Features

CoinGeek

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started discussions with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the international payment platform SWIFT to explore cross-border payments for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).”

Tags: Hong Kong India

Companies

Mastercard’s Breakthrough: Tokenizing CBDCs for Cross-Blockchain Transactions

CoinTrust

“Mastercard has unveiled a groundbreaking solution that tokenizes central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) onto various blockchains, opening avenues for wider consumer participation in crypto ecosystems through established forms of currency.”

Tags: Mastercard

Companies

Digital Bank Robberies Key Risk for Central Bank E-Money, BIS Report Warns

Reuters

“Digital bank robberies and other cyber hacks will be a key risk for countries launching digital versions of their currencies, a new report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned.”

Tags: Bank for International Settlements

Companies

Digital Bank Robberies Key Risk for Central Bank E-money, BIS Report Warns

Reuters

“Digital bank robberies and other cyber hacks will be a key risk for countries launching digital versions of their currencies, a new report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned.”

Tags: Bank for International Settlements

Companies

Project Tourbillon Demonstrates Cash-Like Anonymity for Retail CBDC

BIS

“Project Tourbillon, developed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, demonstrates a new privacy paradigm for retail central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The experiment proposes a concept of payer anonymity, providing cash-like anonymity to the payer.”

Tags: Bank for International Settlements

Companies

Mastercard: Consumers Too Comfortable with Cash for CBDCs to Take Off

Blockonomi

“Mastercard believes central bank digital currencies face adoption difficulties currently, citing consumers’ familiarity with existing money and the challenges in implementing infrastructure.”

Tags: Mastercard

Industry

Central Bank Digital Currency Evolution in 2023: From Investigation to Preparation

Atlantic Council

“The momentum behind Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) has remained strong in the second half of 2023. New research from our CBDC tracker shows that 130 countries are now exploring a CBDC, representing 98 percent of global GDP.”