Swiss wholesale CBDC trial with SDX extended by two years
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will continue its Project Helvetia pilot focusing on tokenized securities settlement on SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) in Swiss franc wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for at least two more years. This will come after the successful completion of Project Helvetia III, which will run until the end of June 2024. This included the SNB becoming the world’s first central bank to carry out a monetary policy operation in a live production environment using distributed ledger technology (DLT) when it issued CHF 64 billion in SNB one-week bills on the SDX platform in early June. The next stage of the pilot aims at expanding the scope with the intention to gradually include additional financial institutions and to serve a broader range of financial market transactions. [Read more at the SNB]
IMF seen as overstretched in expanding its work, including digital currency
The Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that newer IMF policy areas, including digital money, climate change and gender issues, are leading to serious challenges, including overburdening staff. It finds that the systematic widening of the IMF’s areas of work is posing adaptation challenges, necessitating trade-offs, and overburdening staff within a context of budgetary and expertise constraints. The evaluation offered a framework for approaching these challenges that is centered on a trilemma that exposes the tension between the steady expansion of the IMF’s scope of work, its limited resources, and the need to maintain the high quality and value-added of its policy advice. [Read the IEO Chair’s summary here and the Managing Director’s response here]
BIS finds a third of jurisdictions not developing crypto regulations
Last week I reported on the Bank for International (BIS) annual survey of global CBDC developments, but this year they also surveyed central banks on their jurisdictions’ approaches to cryptocurrency. On crypto, the survey showed that stablecoins are hardly used for payments outside the crypto ecosystem, apart from some use by niche groups for remittances and retail payments.. ore than 60% of responding jurisdictions currently have or are developing a regulatory framework for stablecoins and other crypto-assets. Most of these jurisdictions opted for or are developing bespoke regulation (48%), as the opportunities, risks and/or features of crypto-assets would not neatly fit within their existing regulatory frameworks. [Read more at the BIS]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
- CBDC Conference, Istanbul, September 10-12. The conference will offer representatives of central banks, commercial banks, technology providers, policy makers and academics the perfect platform to learn about the latest CBDC developments, exchange ideas with experts and peers. [Find out more and register here][Central bank delegates may be eligible for free registration (email registration@cbdc-conference.com to find out more)]
- Digital Currency Conference, London, September 23-24. The conference will bring together policymakers, regulators, and technology and innovation experts to network and discuss all aspects of digital currencies. And enter the KiffmeisterDCC code at registration to get a 20% discount! [Find out more and register here]
And 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 john@kiffmeister.com.
