Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230428)

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Eurosystem to explore new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that the Eurosystem will look into how wholesale financial transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms could be settled in central bank money (i.e., wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)). The purpose of this initiative is to (i) consolidate and further develop the ongoing work of Eurosystem central banks in this area, and (ii) gain insight into how different solutions could facilitate interaction between TARGET real-time gross settlement (RTGS) services and DLT platforms. [Read more at the ECB]

Brazil’s central bank opens registration for digital real technical testing

The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has opened the registration period for Brazilian financial institutions to participate in digital real technical testing, in accordance with BCB Resolution No. 315/2023, published on April 27, 2023. The testing will involve no real transactions (so it isn’t a pilot). Its aim is to validate the use of a DLT solution on the Hyperledger Besu platform, evaluating programmability and the ability to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, mainly related to privacy, as well as its technological viability. [Read more at the BCB]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

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]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230427)

April 27, 2023April 27, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

I’ve updated my tabulation of central banks that have recently issued, piloted, experimented with and/or researched retail central bank digital currency (#CBDC). Belarus has been added and various links updated. [See it here]

Bank of Mauritius to launch retail CBDC pilot in November

The Bank of Mauritius (BoM) will launch a digital rupee retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in November 2023. The digital rupee will be non-interest bearing and in the initial phase restricted to domestic use only, with cross-border transactions to be considered in a subsequent phase. The central bank cited as motivations protecting monetary sovereignty and supporting anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts. Also, according to the BoM, it is the first central bank to benefit from IMF technical assistance in this respect. [Read more at the BoM]

Mobile payments and interoperability: Insights from the academic literature

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that connects various streams of academic literature to analyze how alternative competition and regulatory policies may affect the development of digital financial services, and particularly of mobile payments. It identifies four key dimensions of mobile payments interoperability, and finds that the lack of interoperability may discourage entry and weaken competition. Without regulation, interoperability at the platform level may fail to emerge, even if it is welfare-improving, when a dominant player enjoys strong network externalities or when consumers can join several platforms. The intended pro-competitive effects of interoperability may be considerably weakened or even backfire if consumers face search costs or if fees are complex. Finally, interoperability of data creates a link between payments and other financial services, which may increase overall efficiency. [Read more at the BIS]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230426)

April 26, 2023April 26, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

NY Fed policy change could squash stablecoin issuer Circle’s hope for Fed access

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (NY Fed) has curbed its counterparty criteria for its reverse-repurchase program (RRP) in a way that could prevent stablecoin issuer Circle from accessing the Fed facility. Funds “organized for a single beneficial owner,” registered as “2a-7 funds” at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “generally will be deemed ineligible” under the new rules. The Circle Reserve Fund, managed by global investment management giant BlackRock Advisors, appears to fall into this category. [Read more at the NY Fed]

Circle launches cross-chain USDC transfer protocol for Ethereum, Avalanche

Circle has launched a mainnet protocol that lets users transfer its USDC stablecoin between Ethereum and Avalanche. Previously, Avalanche users who held USDC on Ethereum had to deposit their coins with a Circle partner or use a third-party bridge to transfer their USDC from one network to the other. The new Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) protocol appears to do away with this need for USDC bridges. Unlike a traditional bridge, it doesn’t lock tokens sent to its contract. Instead, it completely destroys them and issues new tokens on the receiving network. Users can redeem these new tokens for bank deposits directly, by depositing the tokens with Circle or its partners. [Read more at Circle]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230425)

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Offline digital currency technical considerations

In this month’s Central Bank Payment News (CBPN) spotlight, I wrote about past experiments with offline digital payments, technical considerations for offline digital currency, and what the future might hold for offline central bank digital currency (CBDC). [Read the article at CBPN. It’s paywalled, but if you attend the May 17-19 Currency Research Digital Currency Conference in Mexico City I believe there will be free hard copies floating around]

Coinbase files legal action against US SEC over lack of regulatory clarity

Crypto platform Coinbase has filed a court action to press the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about its July 2022 petition requesting regulatory guidance. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said, “from the SEC’s public statements and enforcement activity in the crypto industry, it seems like the SEC has already made up its mind to deny our petition. But they haven’t told the public yet. So the action Coinbase filed simply asks the court to ask the SEC to share its decision… which they are legally obligated to do.” [Read more at Coinbase]

Binance reportedly lifts restrictions on Russians

Crypto exchange Binance has reportedly lifted its service restrictions for Russian users that were implemented last year following the start of Russia’s Ukraine invasion. Binance users in Russia can now deposit Russian rubles and other currencies using bank cards issued in Russia. Additionally, the exchange removed the limits on balances of more than EUR 10,000 on Russia-linked accounts. [Read more at Forklog]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230424)

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

ECB report on the digital euro and possible features of a digital wallet

The European Central Bank (ECB) published the 3rd progress report on the digital euro, as well as the findings of focus groups on people’s views on the features of a potential digital wallet. The digital euro will be potentially available initially to euro area residents, merchants and governments, it could be made available via existing banking apps and a Eurosystem app, and offline and person-to-person payments were seen as highly valued. [Read more at the ECB]

Chinese city of Changshu plans to pay employees using digital yuan

Changshu city will reportedly start paying civil servants and people who work for public institutions with e-CNY central bank digital currency (CBDC) starting in May 2023. The move marks a major step to promote the use of the digital currency, in the face of many hurdles, including its limited use cases, and the public’s preference for popular digital payment platforms such as WeChat Pay and Alipay. [Read more at the South China Morning Post]

Russia drafts law to use digital assets for cross border payments

Russia’s parliament reportedly published a draft law as part of an experimental regime to support the use of digital assets for cross border payments to help evade sanctions, and reduce the FX risk associated with settling dollar and euro transactions in other currencies. Russia already has a legal framework for tokenized assets for domestic usage, but additional legislation is needed to allow their use for cross border settlements. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

Zimbabwe’s central bank to issue gold-backed digital currency: Report

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is reportedly set to introduce a gold-backed digital currency to serve as legal tender in the country. The move will allow small amounts of Zimbabwean dollars to be exchanged for the digital gold token. RBZ Governor John Mangudya said that this will represent the first steps by the central bank towards using the country’s gold reserves to tame Zimbabwe dollar depreciation. [Read more at the Sunday Mail]

Gemini to open a crypto derivatives platform outside the U.S.

U.S.-based Gemini crypto exchange is planning to open an offshore derivatives platform, joining other U.S. trading platforms like Coinbase in looking abroad, as the U.S. regulatory environment gets tougher. The first product at the new Gemini Foundation division will be a perpetual bitcoin (BTC) contract denominated in Gemini dollars (GUSD), followed by a perpetual ether (ETH) contract also linked to GUSD. [Read more at Gemini]

I tried to pay my US taxes in cash – here’s what happened

As further evidence of how flakey the “legal tender” concept is, this article documents the great difficulties the author had in paying his income tax in cash to the U.S. Internal revenue Service (IRS). It highlights some of the challenges faced by Americans without bank accounts, likely among the poorest taxpayers, who would either have to follow the arduous process followed by the article’s author, or pay fees for various end-arounds. [Read more at Cash Essentials]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230423)

April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Bank of Japan CBDC PoC Phase 2 Results

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) published the results of Phase 2 of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept (PoC) that was conducted between April 2022 and March 2023. Although it is only available in Japanese, Norbert Gehrke wrote a summary of the report in English. The objective of the PoC Phase 2 was to uncover potential technical issues early as they relate to the basic functions covered in Phase 1. Some desirable peripheral functions not covered in Phase 1 were also added. Then, the technical implementation and processing performance was validated. [Download the report at the BoJ and read Norbert Gehrke’s English language summary on Medium]

Uptake of e-CNY remains disappointing

According to Changchun Mu, director of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Institute, China’s e-CNY CBDC needs to be made more appealing and user friendly in order to satisfy market needs. He was speaking at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Summit on March 22, 2023 and gave a surprisingly frank assessment of the status of the e-CNY pilot project. [Watch the video at the BIS and check out Rosa Giovanna Barresi’s summary and discussion on LinkedIn]

Fed’s Waller says tokenization shows promise, but risks remain

US Federal Reserve Board (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller spoke about the potential benefits and risks of blockchain-based asset tokenization and the related use of smart contracts. In particular, he pointed to the way that smart contract-enabled atomic settlement can mitigate settlement and counterparty credit risks by ensuring that the buyer will not pay if the seller does not deliver; and conversely, that the seller will not deliver if the buyer does not pay. However, smart contracts can have bugs and potential cyber vulnerabilities; and instantaneous settlement raises its own set of risks. [Read more at the Fed]

The shape of things to come: innovation in payments and money

Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe spoke about four areas where the tokenization of money is being explored. The first is stablecoins used for payments, the second is the tokenization of commercial bank deposits, the third is the next stage of the BoE’s work on issuing a digital pound and the last is the Bank’s work to ensure to ensure these new forms of money are robust and uniform. [Read the speech at the BoE and check out a discussion on LinkedIn led by Rosa Giovanna Barresi]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230421)

April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Belarus central bank considers launching CBDC

The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) is reportedly considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with an official announcement likely by the end of the year. The central bank’s chairman said that a digital ruble proof of concept (PoC) has already been developed. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

An update to Coinbase’s global scale to go broad and deep

Coinbase provided an update on its plan to establish bases of operation in jurisdictions that will let it do what U.S. regulators insist are illegal, like offering crypto derivatives and unregistered securities to the public. The firm is working with several “high-bar” international regulators to establish regulated entities abroad that safely facilitate trading solutions and provide products the crypto community demands. For instance, Coinbase has received a Class F license under the Digital Asset Business Act from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, under which it will shortly launch a derivatives exchange. [Read more at Coinbase, but here’s a juicy quote from the blog post:]

Coinbase chose to become a public company in the US because we believe the US would best be served by embracing this fundamental innovation, but we’re also focused on international markets, many of which are moving forward with strategies to become “crypto hubs.” We would like to see the US take a similar approach, but a regulation by enforcement approach in the US is instead leading to a disappointing trend for crypto development in the US.

P27 Nordic Payments withdraws second clearing application

The future of P27 Nordic Payments (P27), which launched in 2019 with the aim of delievering fast, cross-border, multi-currency account to account payments across the Nordic region, is uncertain, after it withdrew its clearing licence application from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. P27 is owned by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank. P27 CEO Paula da Silva said that “it is evident that our vision was too ambitious and complex… [and] we need to reassess our future ambition in the Nordic payments market.” [Read more at Finextra]

Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone proposes legal framework for a decentralized economy

The Registration Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) issued a consultation paper to explain the proposed Distributed Ledger Technology Foundations Regulations 2023, and seeking public feedback on the proposed new legislative framework for foundations that facilitate Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and token issuance. The ADGM is an international finance center within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has a bespoke licensing regime for virtual asset service providers supervised by its financial regulator. The authority is not the ADGM’s financial watchdog, so the proposal is limited to tackling matters of service type and governance. [Read more at the ADGM]

The EU’s new MiCA framework for crypto-assets

Yesterday I reported on the European Parliament’s passage of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA) crypto licensing regime. Here, thanks to Jonas Gross, is a nice infographic on what the regulations cover and how from Patrick Hansen:

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230420)

April 20, 2023April 20, 2023 ~ kiffmeister ~ 1 Comment

EU Parliament approves crypto licensing, funds transfer rules

The European Parliament voted in the new Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA) crypto licensing regime, and the Transfer of Funds “travel rule” regulations. It now needs approval from the European Council before becoming effective regulation, after which the main provisions start to apply just over 12 months after publication in the EU’s official journal, likely in June. For example, on that timeline, the specific provisions of MiCA related to stablecoins will come into force in July 2024, while others, including those on crypto-asset service providers, will apply in January 2025. MiCA will allow companies to operate throughout the entire EU crypto market with a MiCA license granted in one country. [Read more at CoinDesk]

EU Parliament report warns of the risks of a digital euro

The European Parliament published a briefing ahead of a vote on whether to proceed with the technical implementation phase of a digital euro. While the report is broadly supportive of the preparatory work carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB), it is not a proponent of a digital euro itself. It casts doubts on the eventual launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), arguing that “when in doubt, [one should] abstain (but be prepared).” [Read more at the European Parliament website]

The shape of things to come: innovation in payments and money

Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe spoke about four areas where the tokenization of money is now being explored, stablecoins used for payments, the tokenization of commercial bank deposits, the next stage of the Bank of England’s Digital Pound work and the Bank’s work to ensure to ensure these new forms of money are robust and uniform. [Read more at the Bank of England and Rosa Giovanna Barresi’s commentary on LinkedIn]

SocGen subsidiary is first systemic bank to issue stablecoin on public blockchain

Societe Generale subsidiary SocGen Forge unveiled the EUR-pegged EURCV stablecoin (EUR CoinVertible), which is initially being issued on the Ethereum public blockchain with plans for other blockchains as well. This is the first public blockchain stablecoin issued by a subsidiary of a global systemically important bank (G-SIB). Access to the fully-backed stablecoin is restricted to investors that have been through SocGen KYC and AML procedures. The motivation for the issuance includes using it as a robust settlement asset for on-chain transactions, corporate treasury, on-chain liquidity funding and an asset for margin calls. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230419)

April 19, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

The BIS and Bank of England successfully test DLT in linking financial settlement systems

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of England have concluded Project Meridian, a prototype demonstration of how a distributed ledger technology (DLT) network could connect to conventional real-time gross settlement (RTGS) platforms using open-standard application programming interfaces (APIs). The prototype was based on the ISO 20022 message standard and ran on an R3 Corda (permissioned) platform. The project tested scenarios where funds were transferred from buyer to seller only if a corresponding asset on a real estate registry moved simultaneously in the opposite direction. But the prototype can be applied other registries and other assets, including equities and bonds, according to the report. [Read more at the BIS]

Global mobile money transactions hit a record high in 2022

Mobile money transactions hit a record high of $1.26 trillion in 2022 (versus $1 trillion in 2021), according to a new GSMA report. The number of registered mobile money accounts increased by 13% year-on-year to 1.6 billion, and the volume of mobile money-enabled international remittances increased by 28% to $22 billion. However, there is a wide gender gap, with mobile phone ownership remaining the main cause of this gap, although cultural norms also prevent women from adopting mobile money. “Women in low- and middle-income countries are 28% less likely than men to own a mobile money account,” the report found. [Read more at the GSMA]

Tether’s market share expands to 61%, a two-year high

Tether’s USDT opened the year at a market cap of $66.2 billion, but has grown 22% to $81 billion. Circle’s USDC has moved the opposite way, losing 21% of its market cap. USDT’s share of the stablecoin space is up to 61.5%, its highest mark in two years. The collapse of TerraUSD in May 2022 and shutdown of BinanceUSD (BUSD) in February have increased concentration in the stablecoin market. USDC is struggling amid regulatory concerns in the United States and fallout from banking chaos, when Circle revealed it had 8.25% of its USDC reserves in Silicon Valley Bank. Meanwhile, concerns persist exist around USDT over its underlying reserves. [Read more at Coin Journal]

Considerations for a US central bank digital currency

U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Michelle Bowman” gave a speech on her thoughts regarding U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). The whole speech is worth a read, but here is her key takeaways” “A potential U.S. CBDC, must be viewed through the lens of whether and how the payment system would be improved beyond what instant payment services will achieve. We should ask what current frictions exist or may emerge in the payment system that only a CBDC can solve, or that a CBDC can solve most efficiently? …There could be some promise for wholesale CBDCs in the future for settlement of certain financial market transactions and processing international payments. When it comes to some of the broader design and policy issues, particularly those around consumer privacy and impacts on the banking system, it is difficult to imagine a world where the tradeoffs between benefits and unintended consequences could justify a direct access CBDC for uses beyond interbank and wholesale transactions.” [Read more at the FRB]

Financial intermediation and new technology: theoretical and regulatory implications from digital financial markets

Banca D’Italia published a paper that outlines the consequences of technological innovation as regards the financial sector and discusses the possible regulatory implications. The analysis shows that the existing regulatory perimeters could be usefully widened to address the risks stemming from the activities of these new providers of financial services. The availability of tools to monitor these operators and the definition of common rules at the international level in the use of clients’ data increase the possibility to ensure the correct functioning, competition and efficiency of the overall financial system. In the new market context, it takes on greater importance the cooperation also with the competition and data protection authorities at the domestic and global levels. [Read more at the Banca D’Italia]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230418)

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

The CBDCTracker.org central bank digital currency (CBDC) database has been updated. Highlights include the the Banco Central do Brasil focusing on privacy and security in its first experiments, WeChat adding the digital yuan to some of its payment services with peer-to-peer CBDC transactions expected to follow, and the National Bank of Denmark (DNB) confirming that they see no need for a retail CBDC in Denmark currently. [See the database at CBDCTracker.org]

SEC charges Bittrex with unregistered operations, calls 6 tokens securities

The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto-asset trading platform Bittrex with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC argued in its complaint that the OMG, Dash (DASH), Algorand (ALGO), Monolith (TKN), Naga (NGC) and IHT Real Estate Protocol (IHT) tokens traded on Bittrex are securities. Bittrex was expecting the SEC action and reportedly received a Wells notice warning it of the impending action in March 2023, and had already intended to close down U.S. operations on April 30 due to the regulatory environment. Interestingly, as pointed out by Bloomberg’s Matt Levine, ALGO and DASH are also listed on Coinbase, which was issued a Wells notice in March and may be next in the SEC’s crosshairs. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said that the firm is now considering relocating from the U.S. [Read more at the SEC]

Buna launches its Instant Payment Service (IPS)

Buna, the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization (ARPCSO) owned by The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), announced the launch of its Instant Payment Service (IPS). This service is now live and ready to onboard participants seeking payments that are instant and available 24/7/365, in a cost-effective way. It accommodates business to business, business to person, or person to person contexts, and is particularly tailored for low-mid value payments that are urgent or time-sensitive. Buna includes the Emirati dirham, Egyptian pound, Saudi riyal, and Jordanian dinar, plus the US dollar and the euro. [Read more at Buna]

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]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor