Boston Fed, MIT complete research project into feasibility of a central bank digital currency
A joint research effort between the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) into the technical feasibility of a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC) is now complete. Early this year, Project Hamilton published its research on a transaction processor for a theoretical high-performance and resilient CBDC. The processor was developed as open-source research software, called OpenCBDC, and project leaders urged global contributors to continue working on it. The project was announced in 2020, and in February 2022, the Boston Fed and MIT released the OpenCBDC software and a whitepaper describing their initial findings. They plan to release additional retrospectives on Project Hamilton’s findings in the coming months. [Read more at the Boston Fed]
Nigerian central bank increases cash withdrawal limits after receiving “feedback from stakeholders”
Starting on January 9, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will allow individual banking clients to withdraw an equivalent of N500,000 ($1,120) per week (up from the N100,000 ($224) cap introduced on December 6, 2022). For corporate organizations, the cash withdrawal will be capped at N5,000,000 ($22,200 up from N500,000 ($1,120)). Also, the fees for cash withdrawals above the limits, in “compelling circumstances… for legitimate purposes”, were reduced to 3% and 5% respectively (down from 5% and 10%). However, the daily limit on withdrawals from automatic teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (PoS) terminals will remain at N20,000 ($45). [Read more at the CBN]
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Says $3,700,000,000 Wells Fargo Violation Overshadowed by FTX
Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse says that most people are obsessing over recent debacles in the crypto industry while ignoring what’s going on in the traditional finance world. “The world is (appropriately) outraged by SBF and FTX’s fraud, but when Wells Fargo mismanages billions in customer funds as well, it’s barely a blip on the radar. Food for thought…” Wells Fargo agreed to a $3.7 billion settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over customer abuses tied to mortgages, auto loans and overdraft fees. [Read more at the Daily Hodl]
Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor
Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at chronicles@kiffmeister.com.
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