Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20251011)

October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

The Potential Financial Stability Impact of the Digital Euro (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published an analysis of potential banking sector disintermediation associated with the introduction of a digital euro, finding that potential deposit outflows vary substantially by scenario. Under the business-as-usual scenario, outflows from banks are modest for all assessed holding limits, with total outflows well below stress thresholds—deposit inflows from payment digitalization until 2034 (about €127 billion) may actually exceed digital euro outflows for limits up to €3,000. In the flight-to-safety scenario—a highly unlikely, systemic confidence crisis—the maximum aggregate deposit outflow rises from €156 billion with a €500 holding limit to €699 billion with a €3,000 limit (representing up to 8.2% of retail sight deposits and 2.2% of total banking sector assets). For comparison, past real-world crises saw much higher retail deposit outflows: 20.9% in Cyprus (2013) and 25.9% in Greece (2015). Even under stress, most banks maintain liquidity and funding buffers well above regulatory minima, and only a handful would risk falling below these thresholds. The analysis underscores that careful design of digital euro holding limits is critical, as limits contain outflows and help maintain financial stability. [Source: ECB]

Assessment of Digital Euro Investment Costs for the Euro Area Banking Sector (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published an assessment of digital euro investment costs for the euro area banking sector, incorporating critical factors overlooked in previous industry studies. The ECB argues that significant cost synergies and mutualization opportunities exist within the payment industry, which could substantially reduce the €18 billion figure estimated by a previous study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). By accounting for external synergies through shared vendors, outsourcing arrangements, and collaborative infrastructures—as well as adjusting for specific digital euro design features—the ECB estimates that actual implementation costs could range from €4-5.77 billion total (€1-1.44 billion annually over four years). This analysis reveals that banking group synergies within Institutional Protection Schemes (IPSs) could achieve 90-98% cost savings, while market synergies for independent banks could yield 25-40% reductions depending on vendor concentration and collaboration history. The report emphasizes that banks already extensively use shared solutions for payment channels and compliance functions, and this model can be leveraged for digital euro implementation, bringing costs closer to the European Commission’s original estimate of €2.8-5.4 billion. [Source: ECB]

Banque de France and Euroclear to Tokenize Short-Term Debt in Paris (Euroclear)

Banque de France and Euroclear launching a joint project ( “Pythagore”) to tokenize Negotiable European Commercial Paper (NEU CP) using distributed ledger technology (DLT)—a major step to modernize the euro area’s largest short-term debt market, which has €310 billion outstanding. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency, transparency, and security in short-term financing. The pilot phase of the project is scheduled to start at the end of 2026, in line with the start of the pilot of the Eurosystem “Pontes” project (see below). [Source: Euroclear]

Eurosystem Selects Members for the Pontes Market Contact Group (ECB)

The Eurosystem has chosen a group of financial market participants and central banks to join the new Pontes market contact group, following a July call for expressions of interest. This group aims to facilitate focused dialogue around Pontes, a project designed to enable settlement of distributed ledger technology (DLT) transactions in euro using central bank money. Pontes will begin work in October 2025, initially targeting the pilot phase set for launch in Q3 2026, and later expanding its services. Pontes is a short-term solution for wholesale euro transaction settlement on DLT platforms, with a longer-term project, Appia, to follow, both building on the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) earlier exploratory work regarding settlement using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). [Source: ECB]

Group of Leading International Banks Explores Stablecoin Issuance (BNP Paribas)

“A group of leading international banks is jointly exploring the issuance of a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money that provides a stable payment asset available on public blockchains, focused on G7 currencies. The group of banks includes Banco Santander, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG Bank Ltd, TD Bank Group and UBS. The objective of the initiative is to explore whether a new industry-wide offering could bring the benefits of digital assets and enhance competition across the market, while ensuring full compliance with regulatory requirements and best practice risk management. The group is in contact with regulators and supervisors in each relevant market and will continue to keep appropriate parties updated as the project progresses.” [Source: BNP Paribas]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Stablecoin C-Suite Summit (New York City on November 14-15) will be the definitive conference for exploring the future of digital money and intelligent payments. The event brings together founders, C-level executives, investors, policymakers, and developers for two immersive days of talks, panels, and networking. This be the place to be if you’re building, backing, or regulating the next wave of programmable finance. [Register here]

The Digital Euro Conference 2026 (Frankfurt, March 26) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, and commercial bank tokens. This hybrid event offers the perfect platform to understand the future of digital money! When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [register here]

I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20251007)

October 7, 2025October 7, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Indian Central Bank to Launch Pilot for Deposit Tokenization (Reuters)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will reportedly launch a pilot program for deposit tokenization using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the underlying infrastructure. Additionally, the RBI is exploring tokenization applications in money market instruments, including commercial paper. [Source: Reuters]

ERC-3643 Tokens for Derivative Collateralization (ERC3643 Association)

The ERC3643 Association published a paper that explores the use of ERC-3643 tokens as collateral for smart derivative contracts to modernize the uncleared over-the-counted (OTC) derivatives market. It identifies significant inefficiencies in the current system, where 38% of operational resources are consumed by manual processes and 45% of margin calls are disputed, creating high costs that exclude smaller market participants. Their proposed solution combines ERC-3643 compliant security tokens—which embed regulatory compliance, KYC/AML verification, and automated transfer restrictions—with smart derivative contracts based on the ERC-6123 standard. Through two detailed use cases the paper demonstrates how this approach can automate the entire trade lifecycle from identity verification and trade inception through ongoing margin management to final settlement. However, it acknowledges that institutional adoption will require custodian integration and privacy-preserving technologies like fully homomorphic encryption. [Source: ERC3643 Association]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250920)

September 20, 2025September 20, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Chile’s Central Bank Considers CBDC to Settle Tokenized Assets (BCCh)

The Central Bank of Chile (BCCh) is preparing to launch a proof of concept to simulate the transfer of tokenized assets between agents on a blockchain ledger using a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the settlement instrument. [Source: BCCh]

Optimal Policy for Financial Market Tokenization (IMF)

The IMF published a paper that analyzes how policymakers should approach the emergence of broker-led platforms that tokenize financial assets, promising efficiency gains but risking market fragmentation. The authors model competing brokers—each with varying numbers of clients—who can form coalitions to set up tokenized markets offering faster, cheaper settlement, but which may exclude rivals. The resulting equilibrium tends to produce partial coalitions, meaning either excessive investment in platforms (where private incentives for trade diversion outweigh social costs) or insufficient tokenization (excluding brokers who would increase welfare), while the welfare-maximizing outcome is either full participation or no tokenization. The analysis shows that neither mandating interoperability among platforms nor public-private cost-sharing alone is sufficient for optimal market structure—but their combination is. Even if open-access (public blockchain) platforms are allowed, policy intervention is still required to achieve the social optimum. Thus, the study suggests efficiency gains from tokenization are real, but policy must carefully balance interoperability mandates and cost sharing to avoid market fragmentation or inefficient investment. [Source: IMF]

Blockchain Consensus Mechanisms: A Primer for Supervisors (IMF)

The IMF published an update of a 2022 paper on blockchain consensus mechanisms such as proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, and Solana’s Tower BFT/proof-of-history, emphasizing their mechanics, incentives, and supervisory risks. The paper details operational risks (e.g., centralization of mining, energy use, network attacks), economic and market integrity challenges (e.g., validator dominance, slashing, liquid staking, maximal extractable value), and settlement finality differences across major networks. Additionally, it reviews scalability solutions (state channels, rollups, sidechains), highlighting the “scalability trilemma” and new complexities and risks these layer 2 solutions introduce. It notes regulatory challenges around staking, embedded supervision, and the trend toward distinguishing mature (decentralized) vs. centralized networks in regulation. [Source: IMF]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Stablecoin NYC 2025 (New York City on November 14-15) will be the definitive conference for exploring the future of digital money and intelligent payments. The event brings together founders, C-level executives, investors, policymakers, and developers for two immersive days of talks, panels, and networking. This be the place to be if you’re building, backing, or regulating the next wave of programmable finance. [Register here]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250814)

August 14, 2025August 14, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Industry Working Group Completes On-Chain US Treasury Financing on Canton Network (Canton)

Digital Asset and a consortium of major financial firms executed a fully on-chain U.S. Treasury financing (repo) on the Canton Network, settling atomically and near-instantly via Tradeweb outside traditional market hours using the USDC stablecoin for cash and tokenized Treasuries as collateral, with underlying assets custodied at Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Participants included Bank of America, Circle, Citadel Securities, Cumberland DRW, Hidden Road, Société Générale, Tradeweb, and Virtu Financial, demonstrating true 24/7 liquidity and eliminating the limitations of off-ledger cash and market-hour restrictions seen in legacy implementations– all of which is critical to creating a real, always-available, interoperable capital markets infrastructure. [Read more at Canton]

2024 Canadian Methods-of-Payment Survey Report (Bank of Canada)

According to the Bank of Canada, in 2024, Canadians’ cash use remained stable at roughly one-fifth of transaction volume and about one-tenth of value, holding its place behind credit and debit at the point of sale; meanwhile, nominal cash holdings ticked up (with more $50/$100 notes on hand), and withdrawals rose across ABMs, branches, and cashback though still below pre‑2017 levels. Most people report good access to cash (ABMs and branches), strong note quality perceptions, and limited appetite to go fully cashless—nearly four in five have no plans to abandon cash, and even many “cashless” consumers still keep some on hand. Cash transactions skew toward lower‑value purchases (average around the mid‑$20s over the diary window), while contactless cards and rising mobile payments continue to capture higher shares of in‑person spending; merchant acceptance of cash remains high, and the overall post‑pandemic leveling suggests cash persists as a meaningful, resilient payment option despite ongoing growth in digital alternatives. [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]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250716)

July 16, 2025July 16, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Third Progress Report on the Digital Euro Preparation Phase (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published its third progress report on the preparation phase of a digital euro. Since the second report, the ECB has made progress on the draft digital euro scheme rulebook, which aims to harmonize digital euro payments across the euro area. The ECB has also conducted extensive user research and experimentation engaging with market participants, merchants, and consumers through various sessions and focus groups, to ensure the digital euro meets the needs of end users and provide technical input to support the legislative process. The project’s next steps include finalizing tender procedures to select providers for the digital euro platform and infrastructure, drafting the scheme rulebook, and testing and implementing the digital euro’s technical specifications. [Read more at the ECB]

U.K. Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) Pilot Update (HMT)

The U.K. Treasury (HMT) provided an update on the preparations for its Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot. The government is still reviewing responses to the Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) published in November 2024, but announced a further set of features to be tested in the pilot. These features include (i) delivering distributed ledger technology (DLT) on-chain settlement. prioritize solutions that allow DIGIT to be settled on DLT including the cash leg of DIGIT transactions, (ii) enabling settlement of over-the-counter trades including using smart contracts, (iii) working with industry, platform providers and existing market infrastructure providers to foster interoperability in supporting access to DIGIT from investors operating in both traditional and DLT markets, and (iv) delivering greater transparency. The government plans to engage with the Digital Markets Champion and appoint industry leads to these roles in the Autumn of 2025. Further details on the pilot will be published over the summer, with the aim of appointing suppliers later tin 2025. [Read more at HMT]

Citigroup Looks to Issue Its Own Stablecoin to Smooth Payments (Bloomberg)

According to CEO Jane Fraser during a post-earnings call, Citigroup is considering issuing its own stablecoin, as part of the bank’s broader digital assets strategy, which includes reserve management and crypto custody services, aiming to strengthen its position in the digital payments space. Fraser pointed to the supportive regulatory framework under the Genius Act, which enables banks to participate more fully in digital assets. [Read more at Bloomberg]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250701)

July 1, 2025July 1, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

ECB Commits to DLT Settlement Plans with Dual-Track Strategy (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) will follow a dual-track strategy to enable distributed ledger technology (DLT) transaction settlement using central bank money. The “Pontes” track is a short-term solution that will pilot connections between DLT platforms and the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET) platform by the end of Q3 2026. “Appia” is a long-term approach focused on creating innovative, integrated financial ecosystems, like the “full DLT” solutions tested by the Banque d France” in which settlements were completed using on-chain “exploratory cash tokens” (i.e., wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)). This decision builds on the Eurosystem’s 2024 exploratory work involving 64 participants conducting over 50 DLT trials and experiments, the results of which were published along with the announcement of the dual-track strategy. [Read more at the ECB]

Swiss National Bank Extends and Expands Project Helvetia (SNB)

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is extending and expanding Project Helvetia, which examines various approaches to settling tokenized assets in central bank money, for a further year and continue the pilot until at least mid-2027. (The project was slated to end a two-year extension on June 2026.) Additionally, the SNB is expanding Project Helvetia to include the settlement of tokenized assets with traditional central bank money through a real time gross settlement (RTGS) link, providing BX Digital with a production environment to test this approach alongside the existing wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) settlement on the SIX Digital Exchange platform. The extension allows for a direct comparison between the two settlement approaches in a production environment to provide further insights into their respective advantages and disadvantages. [Read more at the SNB]

Robinhood Launches Layer-2 Blockchain for Stock Trading in Europe (CoinTelegraph)

Robinhood launched a tokenization-focused layer-2 blockchain and introducing stock token trading European Union (EU) users. Built on Arbitrum, the new layer-2 network will enable the issuance of over 200 US stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) tokens, giving European investors access to U.S. assets. Robinhood’s stock tokens will have zero commissions and be available for trading 24 hours a day, five days a week. [Read more at Robinhood]

Paxos Launches Global Dollar USDG in the EU (Ledger Insights)

Paxos has launched its Global Dollar stablecoin (USDG) in the European Union in compliance with local Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, with initial distributors including Kraken and Gate. The stablecoin operates under a revenue-sharing model where Paxos shares most of the revenues earned on reserves with distribution partners, departing from industry norms. Originally issued under Singapore laws, USDG entered the EU market through Paxos’s acquisition of Finland’s Membrane Finance, which held a MiCA license. The launch highlights the complexity of managing multi-jurisdictional stablecoins, as EU regulations require 30% of reserves to be held as cash in local bank accounts, necessitating a rebalancing process that has drawn criticism from EU parliamentarians who worry about potential regulatory circumvention during crisis situations. [Read more at Paxos]

Circle Applies for National Trust Charter (Circle)

Circle submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. If approved, the bank would be authorized to operate as a federally regulated trust institution, subject to OCC oversight, and would oversee the management of the USDC Reserve on behalf of Circle’s U.S. issuer. An approval would also further strengthen the infrastructure that supports the issuance and circulation of USDC and would offer digital asset custody services to institutional customers. A federally regulated trust charter would also help Circle meet expected requirements under the proposed GENIUS Act legislation, which would represent a meaningful step forward in integrating digital assets into the broader U.S. financial system. [Read more at Circle]

New Technology and Settlement in Central Bank Money Between Banks (Danmarks Nationalbank)

Danmarks Nationalbank published a paper that examines how distributed ledger technology (DLT) could transform financial market infrastructure while maintaining the critical role of central bank money in interbank settlements. The paper explains that while DLT platforms offer potential benefits like streamlined capital markets, automated smart contracts, and reduced intermediaries, they currently cannot integrate with central bank money systems, creating risks of market fragmentation and reduced monetary policy effectiveness. To address this challenge, central banks are exploring two main approaches: connecting existing central bank systems to DLT platforms through interoperability solutions, or developing new systems where central bank money and digital assets operate on the same DLT platform. The analysis emphasizes that regardless of technological advances, maintaining central bank money as the primary settlement asset is essential for financial stability, and Denmark will collaborate with the European Central Bank (ECB) through the TARGET Services platform to ensure future settlement infrastructure developments benefit the Danish financial system while preserving the unique safety and liquidity properties of central bank money. [Read more at Danmarks Nationalbank]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250626)

June 26, 2025June 26, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Bank of Russia Sets Digital Ruble Deadline for Mass Adoption (Bitcoin.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]

DLT Pilot Regime: ESMA Proposes Flexible Thresholds, Permanent Regime (Ledger Insights)

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 Deputy Governor Says Desirable to Introduce Stablecoins Gradually (Reuters)

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]

Value of Interoperability in Growing Retail Digital Payments (IMF)

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]

What Makes Good Money? Rethinking Stablecoins in Light of BIS Criticism (Michel Rauchs)

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:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250515)

May 15, 2025May 18, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Project Pine: Central Bank Open Market Operations with Smart Contracts (BIS)

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a joint research study that explored if and how central banks could continue to implement monetary policy operations in hypothetical tokenized wholesale financial markets. Project Pine found that central banks could customize and deploy policy implementation tools using programmable smart contracts in a potential future state where commercial banks and other private sector financial institutions have widely adopted tokenization for wholesale payments and securities settlement. The project generated the prototype of a generic monetary policy implementation tokenized toolkit for potential further research and development by central banks across jurisdictions and currencies. The prototype was designed to be technically modifiable for different central banks’ monetary policy frameworks and calibrated to conduct standard or emergency market operations. [Read more at the BIS]

Project Pine is not intended to advance any specific policy outcomes, nor does it represent any work by the Federal Reserve to establish, issue or promote any central bank digital currency within the United States or abroad.

Towards Verifiability of Total Value Locked in Decentralized Finance (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that examines how total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) is computed, identifies key challenges that hinder its verifiability, and proposes solutions to improve its computation. Its findings indicate limits to verifiability and transparency, and introduces a “verifiable Total Value Locked” (vTVL) metric measuring the TVL that can be verified relying solely on on-chain data and standard balance queries. A case study on 400 protocols shows that its estimations align with published figures for 46.5% of protocols, pointing to the potential for further TVL standardization. [Read more at the BIS]

Scaling DLT Capital Markets – Enabling Central Bank Money Settlement and Collateral Eligibility for DLT-based Securities (AFME)

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) published a paper outlining two critical steps needed to scale distributed ledger technology (DLT) in capital markets in the European Union. First is the urgent need for a settlement solution for tokenized assets using central bank money. Secondly, AFME wants to see tokenized securities being considered eligible as collateral when banks borrow money from their central bank. [Read more at the AFME]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250509)

May 9, 2025May 9, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

SEC, Ripple ink $50M settlement agreement (CoinDesk)

Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have officially reached a deal that, if approved by a judge, will bring their years-long legal battle to a close. According to a settlement agreement filed in New York on Thursday, both parties have agreed to a $50 million penalty — a portion of the $125 million fine initially imposed last year by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), and a tiny fraction of the massive $2 billion fine initially requested by the SEC. [Read more at the SEC]

Stripe accelerates the utility stablecoins (Stripe)

Stripe launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, new money management capabilities powered by stablecoins, which will be accessible to businesses in 101 countries. This comes three months after Stripe completed its acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge. With these new accounts, businesses will be able to hold a balance in stablecoins, receive funds on both crypto and fiat rails (like ACH and SEPA), and send stablecoins almost anywhere in the world. These accounts will allow entrepreneurs in countries with volatile currencies to hedge against inflation and more easily access the global economy. Stripe will start by supporting two dollar-denominated stablecoins—USDC and Bridge’s USDB—and plans to add others over time. [Read more at Stripe]

US SEC considers tokenization-related conditional exemptions (SEC)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering a potential exemptive order that would allow firms to use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to issue, trade, and settle securities without having to comply with certain registration requirements that may be ill-suited for this technology. This potential conditional exemption from certain SEC registration requirements and associated rules would allow firms to use innovative trading systems for eligible tokenized securities. The contemplated exemption would be conditional. Exempted entities would comply with market integrity conditions for the prevention of fraud and manipulation. This sketch of a potential exemption is a work-in-progress. There would be other conditions, but the goal is to formulate a commercially feasible approach that protects investors, including by ensuring that they have the benefit of cutting-edge technologies for trading, clearing, and settling securities. [Read more at the SEC]

Empirical analysis of cross-border Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoin flows (BIS)

The BIS published the results of an empirical investigation of trends and drivers of cross-border flows of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) between 184 countries from 2017 to 2024. These flows are substantial, peaking at around $2.6 trillion in 2021, with the two stablecoins (USDT and USDC) accounting for close to half the volume. The bilateral data allow for the estimation the drivers of these flows in a gravity framework, and how they differ across different types of crypto-assets. The findings highlight speculative motives and global funding conditions as key drivers of native crypto-asset flows. Transactional motives play a significant role in cross-border flows for stablecoins and low-value BTC transactions, where a strong association with higher costs of traditional remittances is found. [Read more at the BIS]

Coinbase acquires crypto derivatives exchange Deribit (Ledger Insights)

Coinbase has agreed to acquire Deribit, the largest crypto options exchange for $2.9 billion, including $700 million in cash with the balance in stock. Coinbase already has a derivatives subsidiary, which is particularly active in perpetual futures. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

An investment perspective on tokenization: Parts 1 and 2 (CFA Institute)

The CFA Institute has published two reports on tokenization. The first one discusses distributed ledger technology, the various models of tokenization, and the processes involved. It also considers the benefits and limitations of tokenization in areas like clearing and settlement, transparency and compliance, and market access. The report further includes case studies from interviews with firms and digital finance professionals on the impact of tokenizing investment products. The value proposition of tokenization revolves around improvements in clearing and settlement, transparency and compliance, and fractionalization and market access. Limitations and challenges include cybersecurity risks, regulatory uncertainties, a still-fledgling market infrastructure, and the issue of whether it makes sense to grant easier access to private market investments for retail investors. [Read more at the CFA Institute]

The second part focuses on the legal and regulatory developments considered necessary to support the tokenization industry. It also analyzes international and supranational standards and proposals by non-governmental bodies and provides a comparative cross-jurisdictional analysis of regulatory sandbox initiatives. The key takeaways are that the growth of digital assets and tokenization requires legal and regulatory frameworks to address issues related to property rights, cross-border recognition and compliance, enforcement rights, and jurisdictional remit, and that global regulatory cooperation and measures to safeguard stakeholders are a priority for regulators and policymakers. [Read more at the CFA Institute]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250424)

April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Nigeria, China to sign digital currency deal to reduce dollar reliance (Vanguard)

Nigeria will reportedly sign a deal to enable a direct conversion of naira to digital renminbi (RMB) according to Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) Director-General Joseph Tegbehas. Speaking at a conference in Lagos, he said the agreement could reduce Nigeria’s dependence on the United States dollar. The NCSP jointly established ivy the Chinese and Nigerian governments in November 2024 under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following agreements reached with President Xi Jinping at FOCAC 2024, aiming to deepen economic, trade, and investment relations between the two nations. It serves facilitate high-impact partnerships that align with Nigeria’s development priorities and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But there has not yet been an announcement on the NCSP website regarding the RMB deal. [Read more at Vanguard]

Bank of Korea “Project Hangang River” is a deposit token pilot (Business Korea)

At a briefing held at the Bank of Korea on April 21, 2025, Deputy Governor Lee Jong-ryul reportedly pointed out that the “Project Hangang River” three-month pilot that started on April 1, 2025, is more about experimenting with “deposit tokens,” a stablecoin issued by domestic commercial banks, than the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Bank of Korea. As of April 20, 51,766 electronic wallets capable of using deposit tokens had been opened, and a cumulative total of 29,251 transactions had occurred from April 1 to April 20. [Business Korea]

Project Meridian FX: exploring synchronized settlement in FX (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the results of the Project Meridian FX experiment that demonstrated the atomic settlement of FX transactions between different wholesale payment infrastructures across jurisdictions, and between an real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system and a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. Using an emulated UK real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, the project connected to three experimental interoperability solutions from the Eurosystem: DL3S (developed by the Bank of France), TIPS Hash-Link (developed by the Bank of Italy) and the Trigger Solution (developed by the Deutsche Bundesbank). In each case, payment-versus-payment (PvP) FX settlements were successfully orchestrated. [Read more at the BIS]