Month: January 2024
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240131)*
Belarus advances CBDC on Hyperledger Fabric
The Belarus government Center of Bank Technologies has reportedly initiated the construction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform. The Center also posted a job vacancy for backend developers with expertise in Hyperledger Fabric and smart contract development experience. Plus, last week the National Bank of Belarus Deputy Chairman of the Board reportedly called the digital ruble project a “significant areas of development in the payment sector.” [Read more at Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240130)*
UAE makes first digital dirham transfer via mBridge CBDC platform
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) conducted its first cross-border digital dirham transfer using the mBridge central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform on January 29, 2024. A 50 million dirhams transfer was sent to China. [Read more at Gulf News]
Public information and stablecoin runs
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper on how the promise of par convertibility by various types of stablecoins breaks down. Public information disclosure has an ambiguous effect on run risk. Transparency can lead to greater run risk when market expectations are pessimistic or when transacting in and out of the coins is easy (e.g., USDC). Conversely, transparency strengthens a stablecoin peg when priors are strong and conversion is costly. The paper doesn’t say it, but presumably costly conversion strengthens the peg even if transparency is weak (e.g., as USDT was until recently)? [Read more at the BIS]
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) published a paper on the implications of introducing new types of fixed-rate financial assets in the financial system including retail and wholesale CBDC, and nonbank-issued fully- fiat-backed stablecoins. The paper concludes that such new assets can have significant effects on equilibrium interest rates and patterns of financial intermediation and may also affect the potency of monetary policy tools. These effects are most pronounced when new financial assets are close substitutes for existing financial assets. [Read more at the Fed]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240129)*
Sri Lanka to introduce CBDC by the end of this year
The Bank of Sri Lanka reportedly may introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of this year (2024). On January 10, 2023, two central bank executives told the Parliamentary Committee on Ways and Means is already planning proof of concept work to see if a CBDC meets the central bank’s requirements. [Read more at Ledger Insights]
Bank of Russia plans to launch direct support for CBDC
The Bank of Russia reportedly plans to launch a direct support line for digital ruble end users. They published a request for proposals stating that it wants “to assess the cost of performing work to create a multi-channel digital complex for recording telephone conversations, organizing the reception of calls, recording them, using and storing records as part of the launch of the first line of customer support for the Bank Russia. [Read more at Ledger Insights]
Bank of Japan, Finance ministry hold first digital yen CBDC meeting
The Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance reportedly held their first(!?) meeting to discuss a potential digital yen on January 26, 2024. The meeting also involved representatives from the Cabinet Office and National Police Agency. Observers from the Fair Trade Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission. The Ministry outlined the need to ensure a CBDC can coexist with existing private sector digital payment firms, enhance payment convenience and protect users’ personal information. [Read more at Ledger Insights]
Valuation of crypto-assets: A guide for investment professionals
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute published a paper that investigates the valuation models that apply to different elements of the crypt-asset universe, including smart contract platforms, decentralized applications, and Bitcoin. For example, For bitcoin, it shows the strengths and limitations of four models: the total addressable market approach, the stock-to-flow model, Metcalfe’s law, and the cost of production model. Each model is derived from an underlying characteristic of bitcoin and takes differing viewpoints by assessing the store-of-value or medium-of-exchange approach. [Read more at the CFA Institute]
Understanding the post-pandemic demand for Australia’s banknotes
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) published an article that examines the value of banknotes used for each component of cash demand and how it has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated share of banknotes used for transactions in Australia has declined by around 5 percentage points since early 2020. We estimate that of all the banknotes currently in circulation, 9–26% are used for transactional purposes, 5–9% are lost, 7–11% are used in the shadow economy, and 55–80% are hoarded domestically or internationally. [Read more at the RBA]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240127)*
Does fintech increase bank risk taking?
The IMF published a paper that investigates how fintech activities influence risk taking by traditional financial institutions (FIs) using a curated databased covering over 10,000 FIs and global fintech activities. It finds that greater fintech presence is associated with heightened FI risk taking, although higher capitalization and liquidity ratios as well as greater income diversification can reduce this effect. Importantly, there is suggestive evidence indicating that in certain cases, greater fintech presence may be associated with less FI risk taking amid stronger domestic institutions. Hence, the paper concludes that robust institutions combined with strong policy frameworks and rigorous supervision can help reap the benefits of growing fintech activities while safeguarding financial stability. [Read more at the IMF]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240125)*
Responses to the Bank of England and HM Treasury digital pound consultation paper
The Bank of England (BOE) and HM Treasury (HMT) published a summary of the responses to their February 2023 digital pound consultation paper. The Bank and HMT received over 50,000 responses, with many respondents raising concerns about access to cash, users’ privacy, and control of their money. In the summary paper, the BOE and HMT said that the they would not have access to personal data. Private-sector payment interface providers (PIPs) would anonymize personal data before transactions are processed and settled by the BOE. Also the BOE and HMT would not pursue government or central bank-initiated programmable functions. However, PIPs could program digital pound payments but only with user consent, and be subject to robust regulatory requirements in this regard .Although commercial bank respondents called for individual holding limits of £3,000 to £5,000, the BOE and HMT are sticking with a £10,000 to £20,000 range for now. The design phase will continue until at least 2025 when a decision is needed on whether to proceed with prototyping and piloting prior to any launch decision. [Read more at the BOE]
The BOE and HMT also published the responses to the digital pound technology working paper also published in February 2023. There was broad support for the six technology design considerations – privacy, security, resilience, performance, extensibility and energy usage. Respondents also suggested additional considerations, such as interoperability, usability, accessibility and scalability. A few respondents suggested models that the BOE judges to not be compatible with the stated policy objectives or design principles, for example models based on anonymous bearer instruments, which will not be taken forward. Most respondents agreed that government or central bank-initiated programmable money should not be pursued, but that user-initiated programmable payments and smart contract functionality would be important for a digital pound system. [Read more at the BOE]
SEC delays decision on BlackRock and Grayscale spot Ethereum ETF applications
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed a decision on BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. This follows a similar denial to Fidelity in the previous week. Some market observers had assumed that the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF was a foregone conclusion after the recent approval of eleven bitcoin spot ETFs, but apparently not so. [Read more at the SEC]
The SEC also delayed its decision on Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust ETF application for the second time. The first delay was in December 2023. specifically asked whether Ethereum’s proof of stake mechanism and “concentration of control or influence by a few individuals or entities” could bring up unique concerns to make the fund susceptible to fraud and manipulation. [Read more at the SEC]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240123)*
BIS Innovation Hub announces first six projects for 2024
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced the first batch of six new projects in its 2024 Innovation Hub work program including experimentations on digital payments cyber security and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Project Leap starts its phase II, aiming to “quantum-proof” payment systems, after successfully establishing a quantum-safe communication channel between the central banks of France and Germany in its first phase. Project Aurum enters a new phase in which it will study the privacy of payments in retail CBDCs. The recently started Project Promissa tests the feasibility of tokenizing promissory notes, financial instruments that help fund multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions. All these new initiatives will be added to existing projects that various Innovation Hub Centres will continue to develop this year: FuSSE, Gaia, Mandala, mBridge phase III, Nexus phase III, Pyxtrial, Rio and Viridis. [Read more at the Markets Media]
CBDC and banks: Disintermediating fast and slow
A paper by Rhys Bidder, Timothy Jackson and the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Matthias Rottner examined the impact of CBDC on banks and the broader economy drawing the Bundesbank’s Survey on Consumer Expectations using a structural macroeconomic model with endogenous bank runs. Based on the survey, they show that a substantial share of German households would include CBDCs in their portfolio in normal times – replacing, in part, commercial bank deposits. That is, there is hypothetical evidence of “slow” disintermediation of the banking system. In addition, during periods of banking distress, their willingness to shift to CBDC is even larger, implying a risk of “fast” disintermediation. They map the model to Euro area data under the status quo and in a hypothetical situation where CBDC is introduced. The model implies that slow disintermediation shrinks a banking system that is prone to runs with positive welfare effects. However, CBDC promotes fast disintermediation, and for reasonable calibrations, the second effect dominates and the introduction of CBDC decreases financial stability and welfare. However, complementing CBDC with a holding limit or pegging remuneration to policy rates can reverse these results, implying that CBDC is welfare improving. Such policies retain the gains of increased stability arising from slow disintermediation, but limit the downside of fast disintermediation. [Read more on Github]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240119)*
SEC delays decision on Fidelity’s proposed spot Ethereum ETF to March
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its deadline to make a decision on Fidelity’s proposal for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) until March 5. The SEC had authorized 11 spot bitcoin ETFs to begin trading, sparking some in the industry to wonder if a spot Ethereum ETF is next. [Read more at the SEC]
For what it’s worth, likely U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump has joined the anti-CBDC clown show: “As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency. Such a currency would give our federal government absolute control over your money.”
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240118)*
Bank of Jamaica going all out for JAM-DEX success
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is reportedly working to upgrade user-facing payment infrastructure to ramp up acceptance of its JAM-DEX central bank digital currency (CBDC). That will include funding the upgrade 10,000 of the more modern point-of-sale (POS) machines to support the JAM-DEX QR codes. Once the upgrades are done, the BOJ will relaunch its JAM-DEX marketing campaign to hopefully jump-start the underwhelming reception so far. However, the POS upgrades will still leave over 40,000 older machines that are not upgradable. [Read more at the Jamaica Observer][The article is based on a November 2023 interview published on CentralBanking.com behind a paywall I can’t penetrate]
Leveling the playing field for stablecoins
Central Banking published an article by Manmohan Singh (IMF) and Charles Kahn (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) on the impact of non-bank (e.g., fintech) stablecoin issuers getting access to central bank reserve (or “master”) accounts and payment rails. This will allow them to offer instant (“T+0”) settlement and compete with banks in the payments space. If banks respond by also offering T+0 settlement, they will lose the potential intra-day float they earn on incoming payment flows by lagging outgoing payments. However, the article points out that large banks can achieve most of those multilateral netting benefits if their hubs have an hour to net payments. [Read more at Central Banking]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
– Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]
Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240117)*
Test and deploy: A new era for CBDCs
SODA CEO Chris Ostrowski and I wrote an article for CoinDesk on the “test and deploy” approach to retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) project management. The “test and deploy” aims at narrow use cases, allowing for an abbreviated and more agile product development cycle, with rapid iterations through the proof-of-concept, prototype and pilot phases. This allows retail CBDC to be issued to real end users in a safe and controlled manner to offer insight into user demand and experience. [Read more on CoinDesk]
Egypt aims to launch digital currency by 2030
Reportedly, according to a study by the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Egyptian Council of Ministers, the Central Bank of Egypt will issue a digital pound (e-pound) by 2030. The aim is to enhance the competitiveness of the national currency and increase the efficiency of monetary policy, and exploit opportunities provided by digital transformation to further develop the Egyptian financial sector. [Read more at the Egypt Independent][The relevant documents are on the IDSC website in Egyptian, but they’re too big for Google Translate, so I can’t verify this story]
The regulated liability network on Corda
R3 published a short primer on how Regulated Liability Network (RLN) tokens would work within the structure of the R3 digital currency sandbox. It first describes the proposed technical architecture of the RLN along with where it sits within the existing sandbox. It then look into the specifics of how issuance and payment operations would work were RLN tokens to be issued in a Corda environment. [Read more at R3]
CBDC: when price and bank stability collide
The European Central Bank (ECB) published a paper that shows the existence of a central bank trilemma. When a central bank is involved in financial intermediation, either directly through a CBDC or indirectly through other policy instruments, it can only achieve at most two of three objectives: a socially efficient allocation, financial stability (i.e., absence of runs), and price stability. In particular, a commitment to price stability can cause a run on the central bank. Implementation of the socially optimal allocation requires a commitment to inflation. [Read more at the ECB]
FYI here are some of my upcoming speaking engagements:
Digital Euro Conference 2024 (Frankfurt on February 29)[Register here and get a 20% discount with the Kiffmeister20 code]
*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]