Sale of XRP on exchanges not investment contracts, US court rules
Ripple’s sale of XRP tokens on exchanges and through algorithms did not constitute investment contracts, but the institutional sale of the tokens did violate federal securities laws, a U.S. federal court has ruled. The court published the conclusions in an order partially granting a motion for summary judgment in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit filed against Ripple in 2020. The court added that it would establish the trial date and related pre-trial schedules at the appropriate time. [Read more at CoinDesk here and the summary judgment here]
Russian parliament passes digital ruble bill
The lower chamber of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, passed the digital ruble bill on July 11, 2023. It sets various legal definitions, as well as the general guidelines for the CBDC ecosystem, including free payments and transfers or individuals and a 0.3% fee for corporate clients. The legislation now moves to the assembly’s upper chamber, the Federation Council, and, if passed, to the president’s desk, after which the Bank of Russia plans to launch pilot testing of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). [Read more at Coin Telegraph]
Bank of China tests SIM card NFC payments for e-CNY
The Bank of China has partnered with China Telecom and China Unicom to test SIM card near-field communication (NFC) payments for the e-CNY on specific Android smartphones in certain regions. The SIM card hardware wallet shares its balance with the main wallet, eliminating the need for separate top-ups. In order to make payments, users are only required to move their mobile phones close to point of sales terminals, even with a switched-off smartphone. [Read more at the Bank of China]
HKMA advancing with CBDC experiments but not ready to commit
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has yet to determine if it should issue CBDC, but it continues to experiment. 16 firms are participating in the pilot programs, working on 14 projects on topics including programmable payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of tokenized assets and offline payments. Cross-border payments applications are especially thorny due to the legal challenges of connecting payments across multiple jurisdictions, which requires a lot of political will across multiple jurisdictions. [Read more at OMFIF]
*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 lecturing at the Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Money Academy on July 27, 2023. [Register here]
Kiffmeister’s 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 (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and 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]
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