The Bank of Korea (BOK) has reportedly temporarily suspended preparations for the second phase of its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot that had been scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. The first phase of “Project Hanging River”, which was aimed at building a programmable and interoperable CBDC network to support a tokenized financial ecosystem, ended on June 30, 2025. The decision comes as the government pushes a won-based stablecoin-focused agenda. [Read more at The Business Times]
Republic of Palau’s Office of the Public Auditor published a performance audit report of the Ministry of Finance’s stablecoin project conducted from October 2021 through November 2023. The audit found that while the Ministry of Finance acted within its authority in partnering with Ripple to explore a US Dollar-backed digital currency (Palau Stablecoin or PSC), the agreements were not certified by the Attorney General for form and legality, and the availability of funds was not properly certified by the National Director of Program, Budget, and Management before entering into contracts. The project involved 154 government employee volunteers testing the stablecoin at three local retailers using $25,000 provided by Ripple. The audit concluded that while the proof-of-concept (POC) was executed properly within the Ministry’s mandate and funds were appropriately managed, any expansion beyond the POC phase to establish a circulating currency would require legislative approval from the Palau National Congress. [Read more on the Palau Office of the Public Auditor website]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB) reported that crypto-asset (most likely mostly USDT) transactions soared from $46.5 million in the first half of 2024 to $294 million in the same period of 2025. Crypto-assets were outlawed in Bolivia until June 2024. but since the ban was lifted, transaction volumes have reached $430 million across more than 10,000 individual operations. This is occurring amid Bolivia’s severe economic crisis, which includes near-zero dollar reserves, 40-year high inflation, fuel shortages, and a currency that has lost half its value on the black market despite an artificially maintained official exchange rate. The central bank noted that these digital payment tools have facilitated access to foreign currency transactions, including remittances and small business payments, benefiting micro and small business owners and families nationwide during the ongoing dollar scarcity crisis. [Read more at the BCB]
RISK has made freely available a 2021 article by Charles Kahn and Manmohan Singh that argues that stablecoins pose fundamental challenges to traditional monetary policy because, unlike conventional commercial bank money that must be backed by central bank reserves, stablecoins are backed by high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) and commercial bank deposits. This creates a parallel currency system outside central bank control, potentially reducing its ability to influence money supply through monetary policy operations. The authors suggest that allowing stablecoin issuers access to central bank reserves as stablecoin collateral would be preferable to them resorting to HQLA and commercial bank deposit backing. [Read more at RISK]
The London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science Law School published a paper by Edmund Schuster and Kelvin Low that critically examines the claims that Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) can revolutionize business by solving the principal-agent problems inherent in traditional corporate structures. The authors argue that DAOs have fundamental flaws that prevent them from being viable replacements for corporations. They identify two main types: “assisted driving” DAOs that merely add blockchain features to traditional corporations (which they call BLINOs – blockchains in name only) offer no meaningful advantages over existing centralized systems, while “Real DAOs” that are truly autonomous face insurmountable legal obstacles due to conflicts between blockchain immutability and the hierarchical nature of legal systems. The paper demonstrates these limitations through numerous examples of DAO failures and attacks, arguing that Real DAOs either cannot effectively interact with the off-chain world due to synchronization problems with legal reality, or must compromise their autonomy to comply with legal requirements, thereby negating their supposed benefits. The authors conclude that DAOs are likely to remain confined to niche applications involving purely on-chain transactions rather than revolutionizing mainstream business organization. [Read more at the SSRN]
In this special edition of the Digest I review some of the recent use cases for the Chainlink decentralized oracle. Blockchain technology has a fundamental limitation: it cannot access real-world data on its own. Smart contracts, essential to many blockchains and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, rely on external data to function. This is where “oracle networks” like Chainlink come in. Oracles enable smart contracts to securely pull data from a wide range of information sources, instead of relying on a single provider. Over 14 blockchain ecosystems are compatible with Chainlink, including Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, and BNB Chain. Through these integrations, over 1,600 projects are using Chainlink’s technology as of 2025.” [Read more at Decrypt] Here are some recent projects that have leveraged Chainlink:
In June 2025 Mastercard and Chainlink announced a partnership to enable Mastercard’s 3.5 billion cardholders worldwide to purchase cryptocurrency directly on-chain through decentralized exchanges. The collaboration powers a new platform called Swapper Finance, which allows users to buy crypto directly from DEXs using any Mastercard Mastercard adds secure on-chain access to crypto – Help Net Security. The partnership involves multiple technology providers including Shift4, zerohash, XSwap, and Uniswap, with Chainlink’s interoperability protocol facilitating the integration. This represents a significant bridge between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), making crypto purchases more accessible to mainstream users without requiring them to be crypto-native or enthusiasts. [MasterCard]
In June 2025 VISA published an interim report on Phase 2 of the e-HKD Pilot Programme, an initiative by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to explore cross-border transactions using new forms of digital money including central bank digital currency (CBDC) and tokenized deposits. The pilot, involving VISA, ANZ, Fidelity International, and ChinaAMC Hong Kong, testis how Australia-based investors can purchase tokenized fund units from Hong Kong asset managers using e-HKD or tokenized deposits. The program aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology for near real-time settlements, enhanced interoperability between public and permissioned blockchains, and the establishment of token standards, ultimately seeking to accelerate digital asset adoption and improve the efficiency of fund management and cross-border payments. [VISA]
In January 2025, Ripple announced a partnership with Chainlink to improve the adoption and utility of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The collaboration will provide price feeds for RLUSD on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger, which aim to support cost-effective transactions and DeFi use cases for the enterprise-grade stablecoin. [Ripple]
In November 2024 SBI Digital Markets, UBS Asset Management, and Chainlink announced the successful completion of their implementation of a tokenized fund, as part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Project Guardian. They showed how tokenization, smart contracts, and Chainlink infrastructure can automate the fund management process for fund administrators and transfer agents. The pilot demonstrated the possibility for a tokenized fund to maintain its share register on one blockchain while using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to enable the processing of intensive fund lifecycle activities on another blockchain with different underlying security, cost, and efficiency properties. [PR News]
In November 2024 Banco Central do Brasil selected Banco Inter alongside Microsoft Brazil, 7COMm and Chainlink to build a trade finance solution as part of the 2nd phase of Brazil’s DREX CBDC experimentation. The solution leverages blockchain technology and oracles to automate supply chain management and improve trade finance processes. The goal of the pilot is to demonstrate the automated settlement of agricultural commodity transactions across borders, across platforms, and via different currencies. [PR News]
In August 2023 SWIFT published the results from a series of experiments that show its infrastructure can seamlessly facilitate the transfer of tokenized value across multiple public and private blockchains. Working with more than a dozen major financial institutions and market infrastructures, SWIFT demonstrated that it can provide a single point of access to multiple networks using existing, secure infrastructure. Chainlink was used as an enterprise abstraction layer to securely connect the SWIFT network to the Ethereum Sepolia network, while Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol enabled complete interoperability between the source and destination blockchains. [SWIFT]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
Ripple will drop its cross appeal in its long-running case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres denied a proposal from Ripple Labs and the SEC to cut a $125 million penalty to $50 million and toss out an injunction that restricted Ripple’s ability to sell its XRP tokens. The SEC is also expected to drop its appeal so everyone can move on. [Read more at X]
The IMF published a paper that examines the economic dilemma posed by network effects in digital payment technologies, where dominant platforms can limit user choice while market fragmentation reduces network benefits. Focusing on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the authors find that interoperability significantly increased digital payment usage, especially in regions with higher initial fragmentation. The unification of networks increased total usage of digital payments by more than 50% in the year after integration. [Read more at the IMF]
The IMF published a paper that takes stock of developments and policy issues related to digital payments innovations across sub-Saharan African (SSA) drawing on insights from a recent IMF survey of SSA central banks. The paper highlights the critical role of robust digital infrastructure and promotes a competitive, interoperable ecosystem with active private‑sector participation. Mobile money and fast payment systems (FPS) are encouraged as the cornerstone of financial inclusion. Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is seen as a complementary tool but only justified when clear market failures exist. [Read more at the IMF]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
The European Parliament ECON Committee published a paper that analyses whether dollar-denominated stablecoins pose risks to European monetary policy and assesses the potential of the digital euro as a countermeasure. It concludes that large-scale adoption of foreign stablecoins in Europe is unlikely due to strong trust in the euro, advanced local payment systems, and regulatory barriers like MiCA. Although stablecoins could theoretically disrupt interest rate transmission, bank lending channels, and exchange rate dynamics, these impacts are minimal under current conditions. The paper argues that the digital euro could offer a credible public alternative to stablecoins, but warns its effectiveness depends on design choices such as holding limits, privacy guarantees, and costs to merchants. Ultimately, while stablecoins currently pose little threat, continuous monitoring is recommended, and the digital euro’s success will hinge on addressing user needs and competitive functionality. [Read more at the European Parliament]
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published a paper that outlines a methodology for the design, testing, and implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to advance financial inclusion. It suggests design features that reduce identity management requirements in low-risk contexts to remove the need for bank accounts or minimum balances and offer offline functionality to mitigate the impact of physical remoteness. In addition, CBDCs have the potential to address price impediments and make financial services more affordable for the unserved and underserved populations. However, it gives short shrift to alternatives that could achieve the same end goals. For example, a 2023 IMF Fintech Note points out that CBDC is not uniquely equipped to overcome such financial inclusion barriers as low financial literacy, cultural factors, poor digital connectivity infrastructure and low trust in formal financial institutions. Also, other solutions may tackle the barriers to financial inclusion that are not addressed by CBDC, such as regulations to limit fees of existing financial services, policies requiring banks to offer basic deposit accounts without fees or minimum balance requirements, fast payment systems, open banking initiatives and open API standards to support competition and interoperability of existing financial services. [Read more at the UNDP]
The Bank of Canada published a paper that explores how programmability affects the uniformity and social utility of money using a stylized theoretical framework. It shows that programmable digital currencies emerge naturally when users value the ability to commit to future payments, which they find useful privately. However, this programmability can lead to fragmenting money into different forms with varying liquidity, posing public costs when informational frictions impede their use. The authors find that banning programmability could reduce welfare if informational frictions are minor—but may help if commitment frictions are low. Their results imply that programmable currencies could offer greater social benefits in decentralized, permissionless blockchain environments than in centralized systems. [Read more at the Bank of Canada]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
The Bank of Russia submitted a phased rollout plan to the State Duma requiring banks and merchants to comply with digital ruble regulations starting September 1, 2026. More specifically, merchants that are clients of the largest banks and whose revenue for the previous year exceeds 120 million rubles will have to enable payments for goods and services in digital rubles. Universal license banks and their merchant clients with annual turnover above 30 million rubles must integrate digital ruble systems by September 1, 2027. All remaining banks and sellers—excluding those with revenue below 5 million rubles—must follow suit by September 1, 2028. The digital ruble will operate via a universal QR code system powered by the National Payment Card System. [Read more at Tass]
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on its Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Pilot Regime, providing an overview of the EU market for authorized DLT market infrastructures and recommendations on how to expand Regime participation. Despite an initially limited uptake, the Regime is now seeing growing interest from potential applicants. The regulator suggests removing the current six year limit that requires platforms to eventually wind down their operations. The authority also wants to revisit restrictive thresholds, including the €6 billion platform issuance cap and €500 million market capitalization limit for equity issuers. The scope of permitted instruments could also expand beyond the current vanilla equity, bonds and funds. For settlement, ESMA prefers maintaining central bank money as the primary method, with stricter thresholds applied when platforms use stablecoins or electronic money tokens due to perceived higher risks. [Read more at ESMA]
Bank of Korea Senior Deputy Governor Ryoo Sang-dai said it was desirable to introduce won-denominated stablecoins at a gradual pace, first with commercial banks and then gradually to the nonbanks with the experience. Ryoo said introducing stablecoins could have a significant impact on monetary policy and the transaction settlement system, as he echoed earlier concerns about capital flows raised by Governor Rhee Chang-yong and noted the need for a safety net to prevent financial market disorder and ensure user protection. [Read more at Reuters]
The IMF published a paper that examines the benefits of interoperability in retail digital payment systems, focusing on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It highlights how interoperability allows users to transact seamlessly across different apps, enhancing user choice by enabling them to select preferred apps based on trust, features, or reliability. This freedom fosters competition among providers, incentivizing innovation and quality improvements. The paper presents evidence consistent with this framework using granular UPI payments data. It shows that interoperability has indeed led to higher adoption of digital payments, reduced reliance on cash, and prevented market dominance by a single provider. The study also underscores the importance of regulatory vigilance to maintain a competitive and open system. [Read more at the IMF]
Michel Rauchs criticized the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recent broad condemnation of stablecoins, arguing that the BIS conflates different issues such as functionality, elasticity, and integrity. Rauchs defends stablecoins as effective forms of money in certain contexts, especially in the Global South and crypto-native markets, citing their growing role in cross-border remittances and decentralized finance. He challenges the BIS’s framing of elasticity by contrasting bank credit creation with stablecoin-backed liquidity, and he questions whether “integrity” should be used as a criterion for monetary quality. The discussion in the comments, involving experts like Aleksi Grym, Rhys Bidder, Patrick McConnell, and Colin Shields, expands on these themes—debating BIS methodology, the systemic risks of stablecoins, and the evolving definition of money. While most agree on the risks and limitations of stablecoins, several commenters argue that BIS analysis is too narrow or outdated and that the current monetary system’s own shortcomings must be acknowledged. [Read more on LinkedIn]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
The European Commission (EC) has launched a study to assess existing technology and technology preferences for offline electronic proximity transactions. The study has three objectives: (1) conduct a market analysis and forecast future trends for offline payments; (2) perform a technology assessment of currently available solutions and explore future innovation scenarios and; (3) identify barriers to innovation. The study is kicking off with a survey conducted by Bearing Point to seek opinions from a consumer perspective to help understand current end user preferences on electronic payments in terms of devices, value transfer technologies but also possible hurdles that may serve as barriers to adoption of potentially innovative payment solutions. [Read more at the EC]
In collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH), the Bank of England (BoE) has launched the DLT Innovation Challenge to engage with the private sector to better understand the implications of incorporating distributed ledger technology (DLT) into wholesale central bank settlement, and demonstrate how to securely transact and settle central bank money on an external ledger that is not controlled by the Bank. In particular, it will explore environments where trust is not inherent—where participants must rely on mechanisms other than central bank control of the ledger to ensure security, finality, and integrity. This framing allows us to test how trust can be established in decentralized or externally governed infrastructures, and to draw insights that may inform the wider wholesale experimentation program. [Read more at the BoE]
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published guidance on aligning financial inclusion with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures. It promotes a risk-based approach (RBA) to ensure proportionate measures, allowing simplified due diligence in lower-risk scenarios while maintaining robust controls for higher risks. The guidance addresses barriers to financial inclusion, such as identity verification challenges and de-risking, and provides examples of best practices from various countries. It also highlights the role of digital financial services and public-private collaboration in expanding access to regulated financial systems for underserved populations, ensuring integrity and inclusivity. The document is non-binding but encourages policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions to adopt flexible, risk-sensitive frameworks. [Read more at the FATF]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
Banco Central del Uruguay (BCU) published a paper that investigates the financial stability implications of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It addresses concerns about “slow” disintermediation (where CBDC crowds out bank deposits) and “fast” disintermediation (where CBDC facilitates digital bank runs). The authors find that a simple, non-interest-bearing CBDC, designed as a digital equivalent of cash, does not inherently cause disintermediation, as it primarily substitutes physical cash for transactions. Additionally, they demonstrate that a well-implemented emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) policy, enabled by real-time CBDC transactions, can prevent bank runs by providing timely liquidity to illiquid banks. [Read more at the BCU]
The Wyoming Stable Token Commission (WSTC) is reportedly targeting an August 20 launch for its U.S. state-issued stablecoin, during the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium. Wyoming is launching a stablecoin to generate state revenue by earning interest on reserves held in short-duration US Treasury bonds. The WSTC has evaluated at least 12 blockchains (Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Hedera, Polygon, Optimism, Sei, Stellar, Solana, and Sui) with Aptos, Solana and Sei reportedly leading the way according to the selection criteria. [Read more at the WSTC]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey expressed doubts that there is a need for the central bank to introduce retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). Instead, he thinks that “commercial banks need to step up to the challenge of digital money provision… [because] if there are real benefits to digital technology in payments, we should want to see them in commercial bank money”. He also mentioned tokenized deposits as a way to apply digital technology to the form of money that we have today, with the challenge being to apply them to both domestic and cross-border payments. [Read more at the BoE]
On June 20, 2025 the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced the launch of Payment Connect. It will link Mainland China’s Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) and Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS), to support secure, efficient and convenient real-time cross-border payments for residents and institutions in both countries. Residents will be able make instant small-value cross-boundary remittances by simply inputting the recipient’s mobile number or account number. [Read more at the HKMA]
SUERF published a paper by David Llewellyn, Charles Goodhart and Alistair Milne that critically examines the potential benefits, costs, and risks of introducing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). The authors argue that while proponents highlight advantages such as maintaining trust in the monetary system, enhancing competition, and promoting financial inclusion, these benefits may not outweigh the drawbacks or be uniquely addressed by a CBDC. The authors highlight risks like disintermediation of banks, financial instability, cybersecurity threats, and privacy concerns. Plus, retail CBDC could struggle to become a significant payments mechanism with the necessary critical mass unless it can offer additional or better payments mechanisms than are already available with commercial bank money and the wide range of other payment mechanisms. The paper emphasizes the need for a thorough cost-benefit analysis. [Read more at SUERF]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Walmart and Amazon are considering issuing their own USD-backed brand-specific closed-loop stablecoins. The main motivation is to bypass traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard, to eliminate the substantial fees these retailers currently pay, including interchange fees (about 1.8%), network fees (0.14%), and payment processor fees (0.40%). The timing of these deliberations is closely tied to the legislative progress of the GENIUS Act, which is poised to become the U.S.’s first comprehensive stablecoin law. [Read more at CoinTelegraph]
Coinbase has launched Coinbase Payments to expand into the global payments market using its Ethereum layer-2 network Base. The service brings USDC stablecoin payments to merchants, supporting 24/7 transactions without requiring any blockchain know-how. It is already live with e-commerce platform Shopify. The new service integrates three modular components: The Stablecoin Checkout lets customers pay using wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, and Coinbase Wallet in a gas-less, browser-native experience. The Ecommerce Engine gives platforms an API to handle key functions like authorization, refunds and ledgering. And the Commerce Payments Protocol executes transactions through smart contracts, handling mechanics like delayed capture or on-chain escrow. [Read more at CoinDesk]
Ubyx announced a $10 million seed funding round led by Galaxy Ventures and including Founders Fund, and Paxos, Payoneer. Ubyx aims to provide a clearing system enabling anyone to easily on and off-ramp between bank accounts and stablecoins. Although Circle’s Circle Payments Network (CPN) does something similar, it is focused on Circle’s own stablecoins (e.g., USDC and EURC). Ubyx aims to provide this distribution and redemption service for numerous stablecoins. [Read more at Ledger Insights and the Ubyx white paper here]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
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.
