Results of the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s first digital tenge pilot phase
The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) published an update on its digital tenge project. It includes the high-level architecture of the platform, scenarios where digital tenge is making an impact, and the preliminary results of the pilot launched in November 2023. The white paper also lays out the project’s plans for 2024 and 2025, including expanding the platform’s functionality and enhance the coverage of use cases. All of this is presented in great detail, making the NBK, in my view, an icon of central bank transparency. [Read more at the NBK and Coin Telegraph]
Exploring new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement
The European Central Bank (ECB) is calling for expressions of interest from financial market stakeholders to take part in trials with central bank money settlement and in experiments with mock settlement in a test environment. The trials and experiments will be conducted with three Eurosystem solutions enabling wholesale financial transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms to be settled in central bank money in the T2 real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) operated by the Eurosystem. [Read more at the ECB]
The macroeconomic implications of central bank digital currencies
The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the European Central Bank (ECB) hosted a joint conference that brought together academics and policy makers to discuss theoretical and practical aspects of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Relying on a combination of research presentations, keynote speeches and panel discussions, it was aimed at advancing the understanding of the potential benefits and costs of CBDCs from a macroeconomic and policy perspective. Lots of interesting downloadable papers! [Read more at the ECB]
Musk’s X receives Pennsylvania money license in push toward payment features
Social media platform X took a step closer to offering payment features after receiving a money-transmitter license from a 13th U.S. state (Pennsylvania). It grants X the ability to facilitate money transfers and paves the way for the company to allow users to send money to one another, similar to PayPal’s Venmo and China’s WeChat. In order for X to offer payment services to users across the United States, X will need approval in every state, a process that could take up to another 18 months. Elon Musk envisions X remodeling itself into an “everything app”. [Read more on Reuters]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here]
*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
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]