Australian stock exchange says software overhaul won’t involve blockchain

Australia’s stock market operator ASX reportedly said it will no longer attempt to rebuild its software platform with blockchain-based technology. In November 2022 it paused its distributed ledger technology (DLT) based rebuild of its all-in-one trading, settlement and clearing software based, after an external review found it had to be largely reworked after seven years of development.  Exchange project director Tim Whiteley said ASX was on track to decide a new strategy by year-end. [Read more at Reuters]

Binance commingled customer cash, corporate revenue

Binance routinely commingled customer funds with operating capital, according to the latest Reuters report on alleged malfeasance at the world’s largest digital asset exchange.  The report claims that Binance violated U.S. financial rules regarding the strict separation of customer funds from company revenue in 2020 and 2021. This commingling reportedly occurred “almost daily” at accounts Binance held at the since-collapsed crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank in California. The extent of the commingling allegedly “ran into billions of dollars.” [Read more at Reuters]

US : Consumer payment behavior consistent with early pandemic

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2023 Findings from the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice show that cash payments declined to 18% of all payments in 2022 from 20% in 2021 (and 30% in 2016). During the same time frame, the credit cards share increased to 31% from 28% (31%). Debit cards have remained roughly stable (29% in 2022). The mobile payments share was less than 1%. Average store-of-value cash holdings of $418 in 2022 were little changed from 2021, but up significantly from the 2016 average of $173. [Read more at the Federal Reserve]National Bank of Georgia approves open banking rules

The National Bank of Georgia has approved the Regulation on Inclusion in Open Banking. The regulation describes the enrollment procedure and ensures the correctness, reliability and security of the services of the entities enrolled. Non-bank institutions, provided that they meet the requirements stipulated by the regulation, are given the opportunity to engage in open banking as providers of both access to account information and payment initiation services. Any entity regulated by the National Bank of Georgia may be included in open banking. [Read more at Finextra]

*For those interested in intra-day updates, check out my searchable Diigo Fintech developments database, which is also a good place to go to query for past developments: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/ART.

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

• 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]
• I’ll be lecturing at the Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Money Academy on July 27, 2023. [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]