South African Reserve Bank Publishes Report on Project Khokha 2
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) published the results of Phase 2 of Project Khokha. The first phase used Quorum, an enterprise-grade implementation of Ethereum, to create a blockchain-based interbank payments system. The Phase 2 proof of concept (PoC) tested the blockchain-based issuance, clearing and settlement of SARB debentures using wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) in the primary market and a wholesale digital settlement token (wToken) in the secondary market. The wToken was backed by central bank money, making it effectively a synthetic CBDC. The PoC was deemed a success although it uncovered some potential interoperability challenges, plus legal and policy areas that require further exploration. [Read more]
Upcoming events I’m affiliated with:
The CBDC Think Tank is hosting several webinars over the next month:
- On April 20 (at 08:00 EST) the Bank of Kazakhstan will present on their Digital Tenge retail CBDC project. [Register here]
- On April 27 (at 08:00 EST) the BIS and the Swiss National Bank will present on their Project Helvetia wholesale CBDC work. [Register here]
- On May 3 (at 08:00 EST) the Bank of Ukraine will present on their E-Hryvnia retail CBDC project. [Register here]
Satoshi Capital Advisors is hosting a virtual workshop on wholesale CBDC, stablecoins and digital capital markets on May 24 (starting at 08:00 EST). [Register here with the passcode: CBDC]