Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230518)*

May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 ~ kiffmeister ~ Leave a comment

A legal framework for the digital euro

The European Parliament published a study that assesses the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) first three progress reports on the digital euro from a legal perspective. It looks into what key design choices proposed by the ECB reveal in terms of the legal qualification of the digital euro and discusses legal aspects of the infrastructure supporting it. It distinguishes between the object of the digital euro and the infrastructure or “scheme” needed for its distribution and settlement. Overall, the objective of ensuring a strong monetary anchor in the financial system should take centre stage. A simple and cash-like design of the digital euro would not only aid that objective, but also reduce legal risk. [Read more at the European Parliament]

Commencement of new phase of the e-HKD’s research programme

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today announced the commencement of a new phase of its e-HKD central bank digital currency (CBDC) research program. A total of 16 firms from the financial, payment and technology sectors have been selected to participate. There will be deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets. [Read more at the HKMA and the list of projects here]

Note: The HKMA called this new phase a “pilot” but it’s not clear whether it will engage with actual users. If yes, it is a pilot, but if not, it would likely be a proof-of-concept phase.

Ripple to demonstrate tokenization in HKMA e-HKD program

Ripple is one of the firms participating in this new phase of the HKMA’s e-HKD digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) research program by showcasing a real estate asset tokenization solution. Ripple will partner with Taiwan’s Fubon Bank and others to demonstrate equity release with tokenized assets using a retail version of the e-HKD CBDC. The project will run on the new Ripple CBDC Platform, that uses a new private ledger with XRP Ledger technology and enhanced functionality, including offline transactions and non-smartphone use. It’s the same platform that may be piloted in Bhutan, Montenegro and Palau. [Read more at Coin Telegraph]

Crypto, tokens and DeFi: navigating the regulatory landscape

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that provides an overview of policy measures taken in 19 jurisdictions to address the risks associated with activities that incorporate crypto-assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) programmability capabilities in financial services. The paper classifies policy measures into three categories and identifies different types of initiatives across jurisdictions, including bans, restrictions, clarifications, bespoke requirements, and initiatives to facilitate innovation. It finds that, for centrally managed issuance activities, current regulatory initiatives focus mainly on issuers of security tokens and stablecoins. Initiatives related to centrally managed infrastructure activities mainly explore the benefits and risks from traditional financial intermediaries’ use of DLTs and their programmability capabilities. Initiatives related to centrally managed service provision activities often extend the regulatory perimeter to new non-bank centralized intermediaries. [Read more at the BIS]

*For those interested in intra-day updates, check out my searchable Diigo Fintech developments database, which is also a good place to go to query for past developments: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/ART.Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]
I’ll be lecturing at the Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Money Academy on July 27, 2023. [Register here]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution 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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com.

The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230510)

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 ~ kiffmeister ~ Leave a comment

Visa uses CBDC for programmable finance prototype for Brazilian farmers

Visa developed a programmable finance platform that allows Brazilian soybean farmers to securely fund and sell their crop harvests on a permissioned version of the Ethereum blockchain. Partnering with Agrotoken, Microsoft, and Sinqia, Visa was one of nine finalists tasked with exploring innovative blockchain-based use cases for Brazil’s real digital central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) as part of the Banco Central do Brasil’s most recent LIFT Challenge. The CBDC’s programmability allows delivery and payment of assets and currencies to be automatically settled only when certain conditions are met, for more efficient capital usage and reduced counterparty risks. [Read more at Visa]

ECB calls for candidates to participate in the digital euro workstreams

The European Central Bank (ECB) is inviting relevant experts to contribute to two new digital euro scheme rulebook workstreams. The first one is focused on identification and authentication the second on infrastructure-related requirements (e.g., IT security, connectivity, reconciliation, and end-to-end service level requirements, plus key performance indicators). Participation will not be remunerated, although an earlier version of the announcements said that participants will not be reimbursed for travel and subsistence expenses in connection with their attendance at workstream meetings, which have now been specified as all virtual. [Read more at the ECB here and here]

Decentralized or disintermediated finance: what regulatory response?

The Banque de France l’Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) published a discussion paper on possible regulatory approaches to decentralized finance (DeFi). The paper provides an analysis of the structure and risks of disintermediated finance and its various components before formulating different regulatory framework scenarios, some of which are alternative, others complementary. The purpose of this document is to inform the ACPR’s positions and to contribute to ongoing discussions, particularly at the European level, on the value of and procedures for regulating disintermediated finance. [Read more at the ACPR]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230504)

May 4, 2023May 4, 2023 ~ kiffmeister ~ Leave a comment

Florida and North Carolina legislators approve anti-CBDC legislation

The North Carolina (NC) House of Representatives and the Florida House of Representatives and Senate approved anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) legislation. The NC legislation prohibits individuals from using CBDCs for any payments to the state, and bars the Federal Reserve from using NC as a potential CBDC pilot testing ground. The Florida legislation excludes CBDC from the definition of “money” for purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The Cato Institute’s Nicholas Anthony has written a nice explainer on the impact of the UCC on digital currency in general, and the Uniform Law Commission has published a paper that covers the CBDC impact specifically. [Read more at Kitco]

The SEC redefines “exchange”: An act in three parts

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reopened the comment period on proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amendments could significantly expand the number and type of platforms subject to registration with the SEC as exchanges or broker-dealers, including decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that trade crypto-asset securities. The reopening requested information and public comment on crypto-asset securities trading on such systems. [Read the SEC press release here and analysis by Morrison Foerster here]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230423)

April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Bank of Japan CBDC PoC Phase 2 Results

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) published the results of Phase 2 of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept (PoC) that was conducted between April 2022 and March 2023. Although it is only available in Japanese, Norbert Gehrke wrote a summary of the report in English. The objective of the PoC Phase 2 was to uncover potential technical issues early as they relate to the basic functions covered in Phase 1. Some desirable peripheral functions not covered in Phase 1 were also added. Then, the technical implementation and processing performance was validated. [Download the report at the BoJ and read Norbert Gehrke’s English language summary on Medium]

Uptake of e-CNY remains disappointing

According to Changchun Mu, director of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Institute, China’s e-CNY CBDC needs to be made more appealing and user friendly in order to satisfy market needs. He was speaking at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Summit on March 22, 2023 and gave a surprisingly frank assessment of the status of the e-CNY pilot project. [Watch the video at the BIS and check out Rosa Giovanna Barresi’s summary and discussion on LinkedIn]

Fed’s Waller says tokenization shows promise, but risks remain

US Federal Reserve Board (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller spoke about the potential benefits and risks of blockchain-based asset tokenization and the related use of smart contracts. In particular, he pointed to the way that smart contract-enabled atomic settlement can mitigate settlement and counterparty credit risks by ensuring that the buyer will not pay if the seller does not deliver; and conversely, that the seller will not deliver if the buyer does not pay. However, smart contracts can have bugs and potential cyber vulnerabilities; and instantaneous settlement raises its own set of risks. [Read more at the Fed]

The shape of things to come: innovation in payments and money

Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe spoke about four areas where the tokenization of money is being explored. The first is stablecoins used for payments, the second is the tokenization of commercial bank deposits, the third is the next stage of the BoE’s work on issuing a digital pound and the last is the Bank’s work to ensure to ensure these new forms of money are robust and uniform. [Read the speech at the BoE and check out a discussion on LinkedIn led by Rosa Giovanna Barresi]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230421)

April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Belarus central bank considers launching CBDC

The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) is reportedly considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with an official announcement likely by the end of the year. The central bank’s chairman said that a digital ruble proof of concept (PoC) has already been developed. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

An update to Coinbase’s global scale to go broad and deep

Coinbase provided an update on its plan to establish bases of operation in jurisdictions that will let it do what U.S. regulators insist are illegal, like offering crypto derivatives and unregistered securities to the public. The firm is working with several “high-bar” international regulators to establish regulated entities abroad that safely facilitate trading solutions and provide products the crypto community demands. For instance, Coinbase has received a Class F license under the Digital Asset Business Act from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, under which it will shortly launch a derivatives exchange. [Read more at Coinbase, but here’s a juicy quote from the blog post:]

Coinbase chose to become a public company in the US because we believe the US would best be served by embracing this fundamental innovation, but we’re also focused on international markets, many of which are moving forward with strategies to become “crypto hubs.” We would like to see the US take a similar approach, but a regulation by enforcement approach in the US is instead leading to a disappointing trend for crypto development in the US.

P27 Nordic Payments withdraws second clearing application

The future of P27 Nordic Payments (P27), which launched in 2019 with the aim of delievering fast, cross-border, multi-currency account to account payments across the Nordic region, is uncertain, after it withdrew its clearing licence application from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. P27 is owned by Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, OP Financial Group, SEB and Swedbank. P27 CEO Paula da Silva said that “it is evident that our vision was too ambitious and complex… [and] we need to reassess our future ambition in the Nordic payments market.” [Read more at Finextra]

Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone proposes legal framework for a decentralized economy

The Registration Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) issued a consultation paper to explain the proposed Distributed Ledger Technology Foundations Regulations 2023, and seeking public feedback on the proposed new legislative framework for foundations that facilitate Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and token issuance. The ADGM is an international finance center within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has a bespoke licensing regime for virtual asset service providers supervised by its financial regulator. The authority is not the ADGM’s financial watchdog, so the proposal is limited to tackling matters of service type and governance. [Read more at the ADGM]

The EU’s new MiCA framework for crypto-assets

Yesterday I reported on the European Parliament’s passage of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA) crypto licensing regime. Here, thanks to Jonas Gross, is a nice infographic on what the regulations cover and how from Patrick Hansen:

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230419)

April 19, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

The BIS and Bank of England successfully test DLT in linking financial settlement systems

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of England have concluded Project Meridian, a prototype demonstration of how a distributed ledger technology (DLT) network could connect to conventional real-time gross settlement (RTGS) platforms using open-standard application programming interfaces (APIs). The prototype was based on the ISO 20022 message standard and ran on an R3 Corda (permissioned) platform. The project tested scenarios where funds were transferred from buyer to seller only if a corresponding asset on a real estate registry moved simultaneously in the opposite direction. But the prototype can be applied other registries and other assets, including equities and bonds, according to the report. [Read more at the BIS]

Global mobile money transactions hit a record high in 2022

Mobile money transactions hit a record high of $1.26 trillion in 2022 (versus $1 trillion in 2021), according to a new GSMA report. The number of registered mobile money accounts increased by 13% year-on-year to 1.6 billion, and the volume of mobile money-enabled international remittances increased by 28% to $22 billion. However, there is a wide gender gap, with mobile phone ownership remaining the main cause of this gap, although cultural norms also prevent women from adopting mobile money. “Women in low- and middle-income countries are 28% less likely than men to own a mobile money account,” the report found. [Read more at the GSMA]

Tether’s market share expands to 61%, a two-year high

Tether’s USDT opened the year at a market cap of $66.2 billion, but has grown 22% to $81 billion. Circle’s USDC has moved the opposite way, losing 21% of its market cap. USDT’s share of the stablecoin space is up to 61.5%, its highest mark in two years. The collapse of TerraUSD in May 2022 and shutdown of BinanceUSD (BUSD) in February have increased concentration in the stablecoin market. USDC is struggling amid regulatory concerns in the United States and fallout from banking chaos, when Circle revealed it had 8.25% of its USDC reserves in Silicon Valley Bank. Meanwhile, concerns persist exist around USDT over its underlying reserves. [Read more at Coin Journal]

Considerations for a US central bank digital currency

U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Michelle Bowman” gave a speech on her thoughts regarding U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). The whole speech is worth a read, but here is her key takeaways” “A potential U.S. CBDC, must be viewed through the lens of whether and how the payment system would be improved beyond what instant payment services will achieve. We should ask what current frictions exist or may emerge in the payment system that only a CBDC can solve, or that a CBDC can solve most efficiently? …There could be some promise for wholesale CBDCs in the future for settlement of certain financial market transactions and processing international payments. When it comes to some of the broader design and policy issues, particularly those around consumer privacy and impacts on the banking system, it is difficult to imagine a world where the tradeoffs between benefits and unintended consequences could justify a direct access CBDC for uses beyond interbank and wholesale transactions.” [Read more at the FRB]

Financial intermediation and new technology: theoretical and regulatory implications from digital financial markets

Banca D’Italia published a paper that outlines the consequences of technological innovation as regards the financial sector and discusses the possible regulatory implications. The analysis shows that the existing regulatory perimeters could be usefully widened to address the risks stemming from the activities of these new providers of financial services. The availability of tools to monitor these operators and the definition of common rules at the international level in the use of clients’ data increase the possibility to ensure the correct functioning, competition and efficiency of the overall financial system. In the new market context, it takes on greater importance the cooperation also with the competition and data protection authorities at the domestic and global levels. [Read more at the Banca D’Italia]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230411)

April 11, 2023April 19, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Misleading news alert: The Digital Currency Monetary Authority (DCMA) launches an international CBDC

The Digital Currency Monetary Authority (DCMA) announced their official launch of an international central bank digital currency (CBDC) at the 2023 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings. The press release implies that their Universal Monetary Unit (UMU) algorithmic stablecoin has the IMF’s blessing, including quoting IMF Financial Counselor Tobias Adrian from a November 2022 speech that implies nothing about DCMA engagement. Also, the following quote from the DCMA’s legal counsel appears designed to mislead: “although the IMF has not officially endorsed UMU, in reviewing the DCMA’s whitepaper and in weekly team discussions, the IMF has yet to state any objections to UMU’s FX premium rates and its monetary sovereignty approach.” [Read more at PR Newswire]

Update: I have double checked that the IMF made no official comments about the DCMA UMA stablecoin, and I checked with the IMF staff that would, and they hadn’t even heard of it. Maybe some lower-level staffers were given the white paper to read, and the DCMA used that to imply IMF blessing, when they didn’t get back with comments. @Krippenreiter did some detailed historical analysis on the DCNA and its staff, and it his/her conclusion was that “I’ve rarely come across something that is so dubious and appears to be a fraud while… [while making unsubstantiated claims] to have collaborated with the United Nations and World Economic Forum on a Project Yetta… [Read more on Twitter]

Central Bank of Montenegro developing a digital currency strategy and pilot

The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) is working with Ripple to develop a strategy and pilot program to launch a national stablecoin, in a follow-up to Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic’s related Tweet in January. The CBCG will work with Montenegro’s government and academia to create a practical digital currency or secure currency solution to test blockchain functionality and potential. Montenegro uses the EUR, despite not being a member of the Eurozone, although it is a candidate country for European Union (EU) membership. [Read more at the CBCG]

Stablecoins versus tokenized deposits: implications for the singleness of money

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that compares the key characteristics of stablecoins (“private tokenized monies that circulate as bearer instruments”) and tokenized commercial bank deposits. It claims that stablecoins violate the “singleness of money” principle because their relative exchange values can and do depart from parity. The problem could be solved by the introduction of clearing houses to support par exchange for the stablecoins issued by its members. However, according to the paper, this is a step backwards because the problem has already been solved by the existing two-tier monetary system. Also, tokenized deposit functionality can be expanded to allow for programmable ledgers, contingent execution and composability of transactions. [Read more at the BIS]

DeFi could be forced to incorporate and certify, French central bank says

The Banque de France (BdF) published a consultative paper on potential regulatory responses to decentralized finance (DeFi). “The regulation of disintermediated finance cannot simply replicate the systems that currently govern traditional finance… [as one option] players exercising effective control over sensitive services could be required to incorporate, becoming subject to supervision.” The paper also floated the idea of strengthening the security of smart contracts using a certification mechanism covering code security and governance. In addition, it proposed rules should also stop intermediaries selling highly leveraged products to retail investors. [Read more at the BdF]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230407)

April 7, 2023April 7, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

How can the public access digital central bank money?

Sweden’s Riksbank published an update on its technical work aimed at examining how an e-krona could work if a decision is taken in the future to issue central bank digital currency (CBDC). The focus during Phase 3 has been to examine how the Riksbank could interact with other actors in the payment market to give the general public access to, and the possibility to pay with, an e-krona, how conditional payments can be made and whether a digital central bank currency can simplify cross-border payments. [Read more at the Riksbank]

The Digital Euro Conference 2023: A Recap

The Digital Euro Association (DEA) published a summary of the key takeaways from its Digital Euro Conference held on March 31, 2023, that brought together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders in a hybrid format. Both on-site and remote participants engaged in insightful discussions, presentations, and panel sessions on CBDC, stablecoins, and tokenized commercial bank deposits. [Read at the DEA]

Treasury says crooks prefer fiat to crypto in DeFi risk report

The U.S. Treasury’s “Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance” report said that ransomware crooks, thieves, scammers and other criminals are “using DeFi services in the process of transferring and laundering their illicit proceeds… [However,] money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorist financing most commonly occur using fiat currency or other traditional assets as opposed to virtual assets.” [Read more at the U.S. Treasury]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]
I’ll be participating in Currency Research’s in-person Central Bank Payments Conference and Global Payments Summit in Cape Town from June 26 to 30. [Register here and here respectively]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230329)

March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

Russia delays digital ruble launch testing due to lawmaking process

The next phase of the Bank of Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) testing, slated to start on April 1, 2023, has been delayed because relevant legislation has only passed through the first reading in the State Duma — the Federal Assembly’s lower house. However, the legislation may be enacted by early May. Meanwhile, the number of private banks participating in the pilot has also changed from 15 to 13. Some of the banks’ employees would become the test participants for CBDC retail payments, as well as one of the largest insurance companies in the country, Ingosstrakh. Hence, although the April 1 launch was being billed as a “pilot” is appears to be either further proof-of-concept or prototyping work, since none of the general public isn’t involved in the testing. [Read more at TASS]

Opening of the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre, a joint effort by the BIS and all Eurosystem central banks, opened on March 28, 2023. The Centre will have offices in Frankfurt and in Paris, hosted and supported by the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Banque de France. The European Central Bank will coordinate the interactions of the Eurosystem with the Centre. The Centre’s project focus areas will be decentralized finance (DeFi), wholesale CBDC, cyber security and green finance. Projects include Atlas, which will create an open-source data platform to provide information on DeFi and crypto-asset market capitalization, economic activity and international flows of crypto-assets, and Mariana, which will explore automated market-makers (AMM) for the cross-border exchange of Swiss franc, euro and Singapore dollar wholesale CBDCs. [Read more at the BIS]

EU lawmakers impose €1,000 cap on anonymous crypto, cash transactions

European lawmakers have adopted legislation imposing a €1,000 cap on anonymous cryptocurrency transactions, as part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package. The draft bill also seeks to cap anonymous cash transactions above €7,000 when it is not possible to identify the sender. The bill had an overwhelming majority of 99 votes in favor, eight against and six abstentions. The European parliament will start negotiations on the final text of the AML/CFT package after a plenary session in April. [Read more at the European Parliament]

Oxbridge Re starts selling tokenized securities to back its reinsurance sidecar

Oxbridge Re Ltd., the Cayman Islands based reinsurance firm with a Gulf Coast risk focus, has begun the initial offering of DeltaCat Re tokenized reinsurance securities, that will represent fractionalized interests in reinsurance contracts written by its reinsurance sidecar. “Democratizing reinsurance through tokenization allows investors to participate directly in the reinsurance business, which traditionally has extremely high barriers to entry… and enable the underwriting of higher value reinsurance contracts.” [Read more at Artemis.bm]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be moderating the “CBDCs, Stablecoins, Commercial Bank Money Tokens – What is the Future of Money?” panel discussion at the Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Euro Conference on March 31 in Frankfurt. [Register with this link and the DECKIFFMEISTER20 code and get a 20% discount]
I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230224)

February 24, 2023February 24, 2023 ~ kiffmeister

The IMF on elements of effective policies for crypto-assets

The IMF published a board paper on “Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets” that provides guidance to IMF member countries on key elements of an appropriate policy response to crypto-assets. It sets forth a framework of nine policy actions that can help members develop a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated policy response. These include developing and enforcing prudential, conduct, and oversight requirements to all crypto market actors, and not granting crypto-assets official currency or legal tender status. [Read more at the IMF]

Canadian crypto trading platforms face ‘enhanced’ rules under new regulations

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published new guidance for the local crypto-asset industry, warning crypto-asset trading platforms (CTPs) that they would have to abide by “enhanced investor protection commitments. These include “enhanced expectations” regarding the custody and segregation of crypto-assets held on behalf of Canadian clients and a prohibition on offering margin, credit, or other forms of leverage to any Canadian client. They will also prohibit CTPs from permitting clients to purchase or deposit stablecoins and proprietary tokens without the prior written consent of the CSA. [Read more at the CSA]

Technology behind crypto can also improve payments, providing a public good

The IMF published a blog post that makes the case for leveraging the technology behind crypto-assets to upgrade payment infrastructures and ensure interoperability, safety, and efficiency in digital finance. It points particularly to tokenization, encryption, and programmability, plus central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to clear and settle transactions. Payments could be made from one private money to another, through the CBDC ledger or platform. Money could be escrowed on the CBDC platform, then released when certain conditions are met, such as when a tokenized asset is received. And the CBDC platform could offer a basic programming language to ensure smart contracts are trusted and compatible with one another. More detail on these ideas were published in a recent IMF working paper (“A Multi-Currency Exchange and Contracting Platform“). [Read more at the IMF]

Digital euro should prioritize online, P2P payments, ECB says

A digital euro should prioritize online purchases and making person-to-person (P2P) payments, according to a slide deck on the European Central Bank (ECB) website. Other uses such as paying taxes, receiving welfare payments, and making payments in physical stores, should only follow in later tranches of a CBDC rollout. [Read more at the ECB]

Representative Emmer says no to U.S. CBDC

Tom Emmer, a member of the US House of Representatives, has introduced a new bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail CBDC. “My bill, which prohibits the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to individual Americans, is a statutory prohibition on a surveillance tool that could be used to kill private sector innovation and deflate the dollar’s dominance.” [Read more on Tom Emmer’s website]

Crypto bank Custodia’s bid for Fed supervision rejected again

The US Federal Reserve Board (FRB), in a unanimous decision, has again rejected Wyoming-chartered Custodia Bank’s bid to become a member of the Federal Reserve System, after previously denying the application in January 2023. The initial rejection said Custodia’s business model “presented significant safety and soundness risks,” and claimed Custodia did not have a sufficient risk management framework in place.” [Read more at the FRB]

FYI yesterday I reported on a mysterious IMF technical note on Jordan’s CBDC exploration, and today the link reappeared here!

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

I’ll be providing a (probably virtual) update on global central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments at the Digital Euro Association Digital Euro Conference on March 31 in Frankfurt. [Register here]
I’ll be moderating a panel on “what happens when the lights go out…different schemes for offline functionality” at the in-person Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City on May 18. [Register here]

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor