Month: June 2023
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230630)*
ECB may launch wholesale CBDC trials in 2024
The European Central Bank (ECB) “new technologies for wholesale settlements contact group” held its first meeting on June 21, 2023, marking the start of the Eurosystem’s exploratory work on how wholesale financial transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms could be settled in central bank money. Exploratory work is expected to begin in 2024 with trials or experiments to launch later in 2024. Initially, three types of interoperability solutions will be explored; the Deutsche Bundesbank’s trigger, Banca d’Italia’s TIPS Hash-Link, and the Banque de France’s wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) based full-DLT interoperability solutions. [Read more at the ECB]
It is notable that the ECB meeting minutes discussed above don’t mention the word “central bank digital currency” anywhere, although Rosa Giovanna Barresi made the good point that the ECB prefers to call what has become popularly known as “wholesale CBDC” “central bank money (CeBM) made available on a distributed ledger”. The reticence to calling it “wholesale CBDC” is evident in a September 2022 speech by the ECB’s Fabio Panetta, which points out that wholesale CBDC is nothing new:
There is a widespread misconception that wholesale CBDC does not yet exist. In fact, central bank money (CeBM) has been available in digital form for wholesale transactions between banks for decades. This misconception is fueled by the commonly held assumption that wholesale CBDC needs to be operated using DLT. But wholesale CBDC is not synonymous with DLT, as it can be based on any digital technology. In the euro area, the Eurosystem offers banks the possibility of settling wholesale digital transactions through its TARGET Services using a centralized ledger.
Italian banks are cooperating in a wholesale CBDC project
And speaking of Banca d’Italia, according to ThePaypers, Associazione Bancaria Italiana (ABI) has brought together 18 commercial banks to “collaborate” with the central bank in a CBDC pilot. In this Project Leonidas the banks use a shared private ledger to streamline interbank payments using a pretend DLT-based wholesale CBDC. This sounds very similar to the ABI’s Project Spunta, a DLT-based platform now in production that is used to settle small interbank transactions, with Project Leonidas being a scaled up version to handle large interbank transactions. However, it doesn’t actually seem to be CBDC-based, even though it’s been accepted into the Banca d’Italia’s Milano Hub innovation facilitator. In other words, the “wholesale CBDC” used is not tokenized CeBM. [Read more at the Paypers]
Fidelity refiles for spot bitcoin ETF
Asset manager Fidelity has refiled with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) paperwork for its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), weeks after BlackRock submitted paperwork for its iShares Bitcoin Trust, also a spot bitcoin ETF. Fidelity had originally applied to launch the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in 2021, but that effort it was rejected by the SEC in 2022. [Read more at CoinDesk]
Mastercard introduces ‘Multi-Token Network’ (MTN)
MasterCard introduced its Multi-Token Network, effectively an app store powered by blockchain technologies for building regulated financial applications. The platform will provide a range of tools that Mastercard has developed, including a private version of the Ethereum blockchain, for developers to build innovative interoperable applications. The first phase of the applications will be powered by tokenized bank deposits. [Read more at MasterCard]
*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 Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 28 to 30. [Register here]
- 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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230629)*
Project Mariana: cross-border exchange of wholesale CBDCs using automated market-makers
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published an interim report on Project Mariana, which investigates combining FX trading and settlement in cross-border transactions into a single instantaneous step using automated market makers (AMMs) and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to eliminate credit and settlement risk. The project also examined cross-border interoperability using wholesale CBDC based on a uniform technical standard, as a way to future-proof CBDC developments. In addition, Mariana investigated asset mobility between different blockchain-based networks using bridges. [Read more at the BIS]
Central bank digital currency global interoperability principles
The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a report that analyses CBDCs from a regional perspective, identifying unique aspects and areas of alignment among jurisdictions. It highlights key CBDC principles that will facilitate interoperability with various types of payment systems, technical standards, regulatory standards and legacy payment architecture and infrastructure, that will allow participants in different systems to conduct, clear and settle payments or financial transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems. The report calls for public-private cooperation, regulatory consistency, innovation and participation in standards development. [Read more at the WEF]
Making it through the (crypto) winter: facts, figures and policy issues
The Bank of Italy published a paper on the challenges crypto-asset regulation faces, as well as the drivers of the most recent regulatory developments, highlighting remaining open issues. It warns that conventional regulatory approaches that rely on entity-based rules will leave some gaps. For example, they may not fully address decentralized finance (DeFi) activities because of their non-traditional legal entity structures, decentralized governance, smart-contracts, and the anonymity of persons in charge. The report calls for an approach based on the combination of legislation and soft regulation, with the advantages of flexibility, dynamism, and pragmatism. [Read more at the Bank of Italy]
Oxbridge Re raises $2.4m for sidecar via DeltaCat Re tokenized reinsurance securities
Cayman Islands-based Oxbridge Re sold $2.4 million DeltaCat Re tokenized reinsurance securities, representing fractionalized interests in reinsurance contracts written by its Oxbridge Re NS reinsurance sidecar. They are tokenized on the Avalanche blockchain. Sidecars are a limited-life special purpose vehicle funded by capital market participants and sponsored by a reinsurer from which it derives its business or quota share. The sidecar assumes a percentage of the ceding reinsurer’s underwriting risk in exchange for a similar percentage of the associated premiums. [Read more at Artemis] and for more on sidecars and other insurance risk transfer vehicles see my 2020 Pension Research Council paper]
*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 Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 28 to 30. [Register here]
- 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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230628)*
European Commission publishes digital euro package
The European Commission published proposals, one aimed at ensuring continuing access to euro banknotes and coins across the euro area, and the other establishing the legal framework for a possible digital euro. If the latter is adopted by the European Parliament and Council, it will ultimately be for the European Central Bank (ECB) to decide if and when to issue the digital euro. According to the digital euro proposed legislation, the digital euro would not be required to have a bank account, and must be usable to make low-value payments while offline as long as there is physical proximity between payer and the payee devices. Also, it must be possible to hold digital euro locally stored on electronic devices up to a certain threshold. Basic services, including when making purchases in digital euro, whether nationally or across border, will not incur fees. However, commercial banks could charge customers for their accounts to which the digital euro may be linked, and for voluntary, non-basic services such as conditional payments. [Read more at the EC]
According to the accompanying questions and answers, user personal data would be accessed and processed mainly by the bank or payment service provider (PSP) with whom they hold a digital euro account, for account management purposes, fraud prevention and to abide by financial integrity (e.g., AML/CFT) regulatory requirements. The ECB would not be able to identify individual digital euro users, nor what users do with their money. They would only have access to encrypted data, and only to the extent that this is necessary to settle digital euro transactions, and support payment services providers in performing their tasks. And just like cash, the details of offline digital euro payments would not be visible to anyone – neither the user’s bank, PSP, nor the ECB. The digital euro should not be programmable… “as a digital form of the single currency, the digital euro should be fully fungible“. [Read more in the FAQ]
TrueUSD depegs on Binance.US, drops to 80 cents against Tether
Dollar-pegged stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) is trading at a discount relative to Tether (USDT), hitting a low of 80 cents on June 28, 2023. TUSD is the #5 stablecoin in terms of market capitalization ($3.1 billion versus Tether’s $83.4 billion and USD Coin’s (USDC’s) $28.2 billion on June 28, according to CoinGecko.com). The spike is being attributed to questions around TUSD’s reserves, some of which is purportedly being held and/or managed by troubled Prime Trust Bank, and rumors regarding holders’ inability to redeem TUSD. [Read more at Bitcoinist]
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares discount dips to 30%
The discount on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) share price relative to its net asset value dropped to 30% on June 27, 2023. The last time GBTC closed the day around this level was in September 2022. This follows reports that Fidelity Investments is preparing to follow BlackRock’s application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with its own, renewing optimism about converting GBTC into an ETF, which would eliminate the discount. [Read more at CoinDesk]
Fintech lending with Lowtech pricing
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published a paper that questions Fintech lending’s ability to spot good credit risks missed by big banks and traditional lenders, providing people with affordable loans they might not otherwise be able to access. Using a comprehensive dataset of FinTech personal loans, the paper shows that Fintech lender loan rates continue to rely heavily on conventional credit scores, including 45% higher rates for nonprime borrowers. Other known default predictors are often neglected. Within each segment (prime/nonprime) loan rates are not very responsive to default risk, resulting in realized loan-level returns decreasing with risk. [Read more at the NBER]
*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 Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 28 to 30. [Register here]
- 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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230627)*
SNB to launch wholesale central bank digital currency pilot
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will reportedly issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Switzerland’s SIX digital exchange as part of a pilot. “This is not just an experiment, it will be real money equivalent to bank reserves and the objective is to test real transactions with market participants.” This sounds very much like the next phase of Project Helvetia, which explored how the SNB could offer settlement in central bank money in a future with more tokenized financial assets based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). [Read more at Reuters]
Institutional arrangements for fintech regulation: Supervisory monitoring
The IMF published a paper that compares ways supervisory authorities monitor fintech activity; (i) passive monitoring aiming to capture new business models in existing regulatory frameworks, (ii) developing bespoke regulation, or (iii) adopting test and learn policies through arrangements like innovation hubs and sandboxes. While the “test and learn approach can help authorities monitor and respond to the challenges of fintech in some scenarios, in others it could lead to risks to consumers and markets, particularly when designed poorly or with an unclear use case. [Read more at the IMF]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230626)*
MAS proposes framework for digital asset networks
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a report proposing a framework for designing open, interoperable networks for digital assets (i.e. tokenized real-economy and financial assets ). The report also considers how the CPMI-IOSCO principles for financial market infrastructures (PFMIs) can be applied to evolving models of digital asset networks, based on industry pilots launched under Project Guardian, MAS’s collaborative initiative with the financial industry to test the feasibility of applications in asset tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi). The MAS also announced an expansion of Project Guardian to more asset classes. [Read more at the MAS]
Crypto Travel Rule implementation ‘remains relatively poor,’ says FATF
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) renewed its request for countries to implement the “travel rule”, explaining that “many” member states have failed to implement the rule. The rule requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to communicate the personally identifiable information (PII) of senders to the VASPs of recipients and vice versa whenever the amount transacted is above $1,000. FATF claims that the travel rule is a “key requirement to prevent funds being transferred to sanctioned individuals or entities”, and noncompliance “creates significant loopholes for criminals to exploit”. Closing the gaps in global regulation of virtual assets is an urgent priority. [Read more at the FATF]
Belgium regulator orders Binance to stop services in country
Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) ordered Binance to cease all offers of virtual currency services in the country — immediately. “The FSMA has noted that Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area.” FSMA said Binance did not dispute that it offered those services in Belgium. [Read more at the FSMA]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230623)*
The Bank of Israel to allow fintechs to connect to supervised payment systems
The Bank of Israel published a “Payment Systems Access Guide” that aims to provide information to nonbank entities, including fintechs, interested in participating in the core supervised payment systems alongside traditional banks. Its purpose is to present these entities with a comprehensive overview of the various options available for operating within the payment systems in Israel, along with the associated conditions and requirements. The guide seeks to facilitate the decision-making process and the joining procedures for these entities. [Read more at the Bank of Israel]
Central Bank of Nigeria approves CBDC use for remittances
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced the eNaira as a payment option for inbound remittances in an effort to help increase the adoption of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). It’s part of the CBN’s efforts to liberalize the payout of diaspora remittances and promote the adoption of the eNaira. International money transfer operators (IMTOs) will need to apply for a one-time “no-objection” and open Merchant Wallets through the central bank to offer customers the possibility of using the eNaira for cross-border remittances. [Read more at the CBN]
ADB wraps up PoC for cross-border bond settlement using blockchain
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) completed its Project Tridecagon proof-of-concept (PoC) probing into the viability of cross-border delivery-versus-payment (DVP) bond settlements using blockchain technology. It connected key market infrastructures: central banks’ real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS) and central securities depositories’ (CSD) book-entry systems, but did not use central bank digital currency (CBDC). The settlement of cross-border securities transactions was proven in principle and across different vendor solutions, but full application may depend on necessary changes to legal and regulatory prescriptions which could take years. [Read more at the ADB]
JP Morgan rolls out JPM Coin blockchain payments in euro
JPM Coin, which JP Morgan launched in 2019 to move dollars, has gone live with euro transactions. Germany’s Siemens AG conducted the first euro payment on the platform. JPM Coin can only move money between JPM branches or to other JP Morgan clients. Hence the bank refers to the solution as blockchain-based bank accounts. JPM Coin is a tiny part of JPMorgan’s payments business. The bank has used it to process about $300 billion of transactions since its launch, versus the nearly $10 trillion of payments it processes overall on a daily basis. [Read more at Ledger Insights]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230622)*
Boosting adoption is key for CBDC viability in Asia Pacific
An article by three Bank for International Settlement (BIS) staffers reviews the experiences of central bank-led mobile payments innovations to draw lessons for central bank digital currency (CBDC) adoption. They find that the key is to meet users’ preferences, like needs for privacy and usability, and addressing commercial banks’ concerns around disintermediation. Also, new functionalities, like offline access, could enhance CBDCs’ appeal, while interoperability could broaden payment channels, both of which help boost user adoption. [Read more at Asia Global Online].
Valkyrie joins rush with BTC spot ETF application
Cryptocurrency fund manager Valkyrie is filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). BlackRock, WisdomTree and Invesco have recently filed similar applications, and Fidelity will reportedly follow suit. Valkyrie has already several bitcoin-related investment vehicles in the United States, including bitcoin futures ETFs and Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF, which tracks securities of companies that derive their revenue or profits from bitcoin mining. [Read more at CoinTelegraph]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230621)*
MAS purpose bound money (PBM) technical whitepaper
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a paper proposing a common protocol to specify conditions for the use of digital money such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized bank deposits, and stablecoins on a distributed ledger. The whitepaper was supported by the release of open source software prototypes that demonstrate the concept of purpose bound money (PBM), which enables senders to specify conditions, such as validity period and types of shops, when making transfers in digital money across different systems. [Read more at the MAS]
WisdomTree, Invesco follow BlackRock with spot bitcoin ETF applications
Two more U.S.-based asset managers (Wisdom Tree and Invesco) re-filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the wake of last week’s similar application by BlackRock. WisdomTree had made two approval attempts, which were rejected in December 2021 and October 2022. Invesco had previously teamed up with Galaxy Digital to file for the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF in September 2021, which never came to fruition (the application was presumably withdrawn). [Read more at Decrypt]
Schwab and Fidelity-Backed Crypto Exchange EDX Goes Live, Adds More Backers
EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency platform backed by Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Citadel Securities, launched trading for bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. EDX is a non-custodial exchange, meaning it does not hold customer crypto and instead uses a third-party custodian. EDX plans to launch a clearinghouse later this year to help customers settle trades. EDX has also closed a second funding round, attracting new investors such as Miami International Holdings and affiliates of proprietary trading firms DV Trading, GTS, GSR, and Hudson River Trading. [Read more at MSN]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230620)*
BIS blueprint for the future monetary and financial system
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) proposed a new type of financial infrastructure that would combine central bank digital currency (CBDC) with tokenized bank deposits and other tokenized claims, on a programmable platform on a unified ledger. The BIS claims that “eventual benefits would go beyond faster speeds and lower costs, to enable entirely new types of transaction, limited only by the ingenuity of public and private innovators… Examples include new methods for securities settlements that combine all the individual steps into one seamless transaction, tokenized deposits with built-in regulatory checks that simultaneously settle in wholesale CBDC, smart contract-enabled credit that reduces the cost of trade finance for smaller companies, improving global supply chains, enhanced sharing of data on potential borrowers, and using privacy-protecting technology, to expand access to credit for disadvantaged segments of the population.” [Read more at the BIS]
EU legislation for digital euro was reportedly put on hold
European Union (EU) legislation needed for the European Central Bank (ECB) to issue a digital euro, due to be published June 28, had reportedly been put on hold. The purported move follows the leaking of the draft bill and a statement by finance ministers that appeared to question the motivation for the plan last week. The timeline for the draft bill, intended to be published ahead of a firm ECB decision on whether to issue the retail CBDC, has shifted out several times. However, it was later reported that the legislation was back on the June 28 agenda. [Read more at CoinDesk and download the leaked draft here]
Central bank digital currency adoption: A two-sided model
The IMF published a paper that studies CBDC adoption using a theoretical model, finding that there is a feedback loop where more households will adopt CBDC if more firms accept CBDC and vice versa. Households are more likely to adopt CBDC if the cost to own a CBDC wallet is low, it provides an attractive savings vehicle, reduces the cost of remittances, improves the efficiency of government payments, and offers a valuable means of payment. Merchants are more likely to accept CBDC if fees are low, if there are tax exemptions or subsidies for transactions made in CBDC, and if households who prefer to make payments with CBDC make up a large share of revenue. Temporary subsidies and using CBDC for government payments can spur initial take-up to kick start the higher usage feedback loop. [Read more at the IMF]
*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]