Ukraine speeds up digital hryvnia project, plans pilot for this year
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has reportedly instructed the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to launch its e-hryvnia central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot this year, instead of the originally planned 2024. The NBU published an e-hryvnia concept note in November 2022, and in January 2023 Tascombank carried out CBDC tests on the Stellar network. [Read more at Bitcoin.com]
The FSB stepping up its work on financial stability risks of decentralized finance
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is stepping up its investigation into decentralized finance (Defi) on concerns over potential for spill-over risks to traditional finance (Tradfi). The FSB will also analyze the asset tokenization and how it could increase linkages between crypto-asset markets/DeFi, Tradfi and the real economy. In addition, the FSB will explore approaches to fill data gaps to measure and monitor interconnectedness of Defi. [Read more at the FSB]
Crunchfish digital cash pilot in India is scaling up
Crunchfish in partnership with HDFC Bank and another Indian bank are piloting offline (P2B only?) payments in a project monitored by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in their Regulatory Sandbox program. First phase of the pilot started during Christmas 2022, with a small-scale test during Christmas 2022. The pilot is scheduled to run for a period of four months, followed by a one-month evaluation by RBI. [Read more at Crunchfish]
Central bank digital currencies in Africa: catching up
SUERF published an abbreviated version of the 2022 BIS paper on African CBDC developments. Like their peers, a key motivation for African central banks is achieving greater payment system efficiency, but they place more emphasis on financial inclusion and potential benefits for monetary policy. But Africans are more worried than other regions about cyber risks and cross-border spillovers and are also concerned about high operational costs. [Read more at SUERF]
Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:
- I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
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.
The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).
Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]
WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]
