Why Stablecoins and a Central Bank Digital Currency Have a Future Together
A new C.D. Howe Institute report advocates for the Bank of Canada issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC) to facilitate the emergence of Canadian dollar stablecoins. The report explains that Canadian-dollar-linked stablecoins could become attractive to Canadians by making them convertible into Bank-issued cash, and ensuring that the stablecoins are well designed and regulated from business conduct, competitive, operational, privacy and prudential perspectives. [Read more]
UK has no plans for a wholesale CBDC, envisages banks enabling synthetic
The Bank of England dismissed the option of a domestic wholesale CBDC, because the private sector can achieve a similar result themselves. Governor Bailey, at a UK House of Lords Economic Committee meeting, highlighted that banks have existing access to central bank money through its real time gross settlement system. Also, the Bank has introduced an omnibus account that would enable the banks to use digital coins between themselves that settle with the Bank of England. It might also allow nonbanks, like Fnality, to create wholesale digital currency backed by central bank money. [Read more]
FOMO Drives Tanzanian Central Bank to Plan Own Digital Currency
Governor Florens Luoga has reportedly revealed that the Bank of Tanzania has begun CBDC launch preparations, to “ensure that our country is not left behind the adoption of central bank digital currencies”. As part of preparations the Bank is strengthening the capacity of its officials on digital currencies and expanding research. [Read more]
Bank of Lithuania Continues Digital Euro Experiments by Engaging Market Participants
The Bank of Lithuania is inviting payment market participants and technology vendors to develop a QR code-based payment solution that enables instant settlements in digital euro at points of sale. The solution should be based on an app running on mobile devices, but connectivity based on short-range wireless technologies (e.g., NFC or Bluetooth) so transactions can be done offline. [Read more]
To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, for those interested in intra-day updates and news that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, please check out my Diigo fintech bookmarks: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech.