Palau’s Ministry of Finance advances stablecoin audit process
The audit process on Palau’s XRP Ledger-based stablecoin (PSC) pilot is advancing, as the Ministry of Finance collaborates with the government auditors. 202 documents were printed and will be submitted for review. The audit was requested on account of concerns around the legality of the program and the funds used for its implementation. Concerns about money laundering risks were also expressed, although the Ministry of Finance replied that, because the ledger is fully transparent, with all money and spending is 100% visible, traceable, and attributable, these risks are well mitigated. [Read more at Bitcoin.com]
HKMA report on bond tokenization in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a report on the experience learnt from the government’s inaugural HK$800 million distributed ledger technology (DLT) based tokenized green bond offering in February 2023. DLT has been applied to primary issuance, settlement of secondary trading and coupon payment, and will be tested out in maturity redemption. The report laid out use cases, benefits and any challenges faced during the study. Going forward, the HKMA in coordination with the government will work with the industry to conduct further tokenized issuance(s) to advance development on this front. [Read more at the HKMA]
HKMA Unveils new Roadmap to promote Fintech adoption
The HKMA published a new Fintech Promotion Roadmap, outlining the key initiatives that it will undertake over the next 12 months to give further impetus to Fintech adoption in the financial services industry. It focuses on Wealthtech, Insurtech and Greentech as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Following the Roadmap, the HKMA will expand its scope of promotion beyond awareness-raising and take proactive steps to assist financial institutions to put Fintech solutions into action. To implement the Roadmap, the HKMA will launch a series of activities in the coming 12 months. [Read more at the HKMA]
Mastercard, Visa step back from Binance card partnerships
Mastercard and Visa have stepped back from their card partnerships with Binance. Visa stopped issuing new co-branded cards with Binance in Europe, and Mastercard will end its card partnership with Binance in September. Binance got cut off from the US banking system in February, and lost the ability to accept some bank transfers in Australia in May. Binance had also recently shut down its Connect product that allowed businesses to accept crypto through Visa and Mastercard, and its banking partner in Europe is set to stop providing support in September. [Read more at Bloomberg]
*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.
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.
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