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file for the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF in September 2021, which never came to fruition (the application was presumably withdrawn).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]