ECB Executive pens November 2025 rollout for digital Euro CBDC
European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Piero Cipollone gave a speech that outlined the fundamental design choices and rationale behind the digital euro project. The project is currently in the “preparation” phase in which the scheme rulebook is being finalized, service provider are being selected, deep dives are being conducted (including conducting further research on offline functions) and test and roll-out plans are being drafted. The preparation phase is expected to be complete by November 2025, at which point potential “roll-out” may happen if the legislative framework is adopted by the European Parliament. However, it’s unclear what is meant by “rollout” since CBDC launches are typically preceded by pilots, a step the ECB would be unlikely to skip. [Read more at the ECB]
HKMA launches phase 2 of the e-HKD pilot programme
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched phase 2 of the e-HKD pilot programme. Phase 1 was completed in October 2023 and had studied domestic retail use cases in various areas such as programmable payments, settlement of tokenized assets, and offline payments. Phase 2 will delve deeper into select pilots from phase 1 where an e-HKD could add unique value, such as programmability, tokenization and atomic settlement, as well as explore new use cases that have not been covered in the previous phase. Organizations interested in participating in phase 2 have been invited to submit applications by May 17, 2024. [Read more at the HKMA]
Technology providers in the payment sector: market and regulatory developments
Banca D’Italia published a paper on financial technology providers and their crucial role in enabling firms – even small ones – to become more efficient and keep pace with innovation. It draws attention to how interdependencies between such providers and financial entities may pose new systemic risks, deserving the attention of financial regulators and overseers. Although it doesn’t cover central bank digital currency (CBDC) explicitly, all of the points it makes seem relevant to the role such technology providers play in CBDC launches and pilots. [Read more at the Banca D’Italia]
*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).
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