SEC Postpones Decision on Hashdex and Ark 21Shares ETH ETFs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is delaying its decision on bids to create Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from VanEck from March 24 to May 23, Ark 21Shares to May May 24, and Hashdex from March 31 to May 30th. Also, the U.S. SEC reportedly issued several subpoenas to companies related to attempts to label Ether as a security, and the Ethereum Foundation said that it may be under investigation “from a state authority.” Should the SEC move forward with regulating Ether, it could potentially put the regulator in conflict with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). [Read more at Coin Telegraph]
GSMA state of the industry report on mobile money 2024
The GSMA published its annual report on mobile money. Adoption and active use continued to grow in 2023 but at a slower rate than in previous years. West Africa was the main growth driver, with Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal leading the way. Mobile money transaction volumes grew faster than transaction values – leading to a drop in average transaction values. Much of the higher-value transactions occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the demand for digital transactions was very high. [Read more at the GSMA]
Liberian government contemplating CBDC?
Blockchain developer Gluwa is exploring the possibility of building a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for Liberia. The firm’s CEO met with the President of Liberia to discuss enhancements to the country’s financial infrastructure, but no mention was made of central bank engagement, so the latter’s engagement in the project is unclear. [Read more at Gluwa]
*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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