Taiwan FSC proposes law allowing banks to issue stablecoin (Crypto.news)

The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission reportedly wants to introduce a draft law that would allow banks to issue their own stablecoins that will be jointly managed by the Taiwan central bank. “Chairman of the Taiwan FSC, Peng Jinlong, stated that stablecoins will be used as a bridge that connects the gap between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, making it easier for investors to access the crypto trading market. In the case of Taiwan, stablecoins issued by local banks will be pegged to the new Taiwan dollar instead of the U.S. dollar.” [Read more at Money.udn.com]

Eurex gets BaFin approval for DLT-based margin collateral via HQLAᵡ (Ledger Insights)

Eurex Clearing has received non-objection letter from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for distributed ledger technology (DLT) supported collateral mobilization for its clients. The initiative is a collaboration with HQLAᵡ and Clearstream, with J.P. Morgan planning to participate as the pilot clearing member. The objective is to ensure that securities collateral can be accessed and utilized instantly to fulfil central counterparty (CCP) margin requirements, regardless of its physical location. [Read more at HQLAᵡ]

Privacy-enhancing technologies for digital payments: mapping the landscape (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper on how technology can enhance privacy in digital payment systems. It classifies privacy-enhancing designs along the dimensions of privacy versus auditability, and soft institution- versus hard technology-based solutions. It maps existing technologies into this taxonomy and assesses them. Sophisticated techniques allow having both hard privacy and limited transparency by employing hard-coded rules that dictate which data remains inaccessible. On balance, there is promise in novel concepts like zero-knowledge-proofs, but current technologies suffer from security and computational capacity limitations in. [Read more at the BIS]

Here a coin, there a coin, everywhere a stablecoin (Atlanta Fed)

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta published an article on the growing use of stablecoins. It points to retailers like Overstock, Chipotle, Whole Foods, and GameStop now accepting them, Stripe enabling merchants to accept USD Coin (USDC). Regal Cinemas offering a 10% discount on tickets and concessions for USDC payments, and Travala letting users book travel services with USDC or USDT. Benefits to merchants include reduced transaction fees, immediate settlement, and attracting crypto-savvy customers. However, the article points to concerns over the stability of the assets backing them, regulatory uncertainty, and security vulnerabilities like cyberattacks, and stablecoins used in decentralized finance platforms facing risks such as smart contract failures and liquidity issues. [Read more at the Atlanta Fed]

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Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

• The Central Bank Payments Conference (Paris, February 17–19) will explore the latest issues and developments confronting central banks and their evolving role as operators, overseers, and catalysts within the payments landscape. The focus will be on cross-border payments, CBDC and tokenization, open finance, instant payments, and financial inclusion, among other topics. When you register get 15% off by using the Kiffmeister15 code. [register here]
• The Global Payments Summit (Paris, February 19–21), the second half of Currency Research Payments Week, will explore emerging payments trends and innovations, positioning the ecosystem’s commercial players — banks, PSPs, solution providers — at the center of the discussions. When you register get 15% off by using the Kiffmeister15 code. [register here]
• The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [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.