Russia to allow crypto payments in international trade (Reuters)
Russia’s State Duma passed a bill that will allow businesses to use crypto-assets in international trade, as part of efforts to skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, starting on September 1, 2024. The final step requires the approval of the Federation Council and the President’s signature. Under the new law, the Bank of Russia will create an experimental infrastructure for cryptocurrency payments, details of which have yet to be announced. [Read more at RIA Novosti]
Birri Gubba Nation to launch a sovereign digital currency (MetaMUI)
The Birri Gubba Nation, an Australian indigenous sovereign nation, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sovereign Wallet, to establish a comprehensive national digital identity system to serve as account addresses for sovereign digital currency. Sovereign Wallet is a blockchain technology company that developed the MetaMUI CBDC Cloud Service for creating digital currencies, which the Yidinji Nation, another Australian indigenous nation, used to launch its Yidindji Dollar (SYD) in 2022. The Birri Gubba Nation national identity and digital currency systems are set to go live in September 2024. If it is structured like the Yidindji Dollar, it will be pegged to the Australian dollar (AUD), although the mechanism hasn’t been revealed. [Read more on CoinDesk]
I wrote about Yidindji’s SYD in 2022 in the Global Financial Intelligencer, arguing that it met the criteria for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) label. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) a CBDC is a digital payment instrument, denominated in the jurisdiction’s unit of account, that is issued by and a direct liability of the jurisdiction’s central bank or monetary authority, and the SYD seems to check all the boxes. The digital currency is issued and backed by the Yidindji Reserve Bank (YRB) established by the YRB Act of 2016, which was revised in 2022 to give the YRB the ability to issue currency. The Yidindji Currency Acts of 2014 and 2022, require Yidindji citizens to settle their obligations in SYD, so it is arguably a unit of account. What do others think?
Project Pyxtrial: monitoring the backing of stablecoins (BIS)
The BIS and the Bank of England have have developed a prototype data analytics pipeline which includes data collection, storage and analysis, that can provide supervisors with near real-time data about stablecoins’ liabilities and their backing assets. Pyxtrial can provide insight into whether the backing assets exceed their liabilities at all times, and enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of the monitoring process, which helps supervisors to respond faster to potential risks. [Read more at the BIS]
CBDCs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LATAM Journal of Central Banking)
The Latin American (LATAM) Journal of Central Banking published a paper on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, by staff from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Central Bank of Colombia, and American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The paper draws heavily from the Committee on Payments and Infrastructures (CPMI) annual survey of central banks regarding interest in, and motivations for, exploring CBDC in their jurisdiction. [Read more at the LATAM Journal of Central Banking]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
- Intertribal Foreign Affairs Council Forum 2024, Yidindji, August 30-31. The conference will bring together indigenous nations to showcase the excellence of their governance practices and generate new ideas for the future. I’ll be on a panel focused on the future of money and indigenous financial inclusion. [Find out more and register here]
- 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.
