Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20260802)

August 2, 2026August 2, 2026 ~ kiffmeister ~ Leave a comment

China Cuts Durian Settlement to 30 Minutes with First Outbound e-CNY Payment to Malaysia (SCMP)

China has completed its first outbound payment via the Cross‑Border e‑CNY Express Service (CBETS) to Malaysia, settling a 43,000 yuan shipment of fresh durian. The transaction was executed by China Construction Bank’s Xiamen branch in coordination with its Labuan branch in Malaysia, using direct bank‑to‑bank ledger transfers and on‑the‑fly conversion into Malaysian ringgit. Compared with traditional correspondent banking networks operating under the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system, this cut settlement to 30 minutes from one to three days and eliminated clearing fees of up to 6% and per‑transaction charges of $25 to $35. CBETS, operated by the e‑CNY International Operation Center under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Institute, provides on‑chain and off‑chain connectivity and 24/7 cross‑border settlement. [SCMP]

FYI most publications are presenting this as a central bank digital currency (CBDC) story, but there’s no concrete evidence that it is. For starters, the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) announced earlier in the year that the e-CNY is now a tokenized commercial bank deposit-based platform. And earlier stories going back to September 2025 (see below) that I missed make it clear that the Cross‑Border e‑CNY Express Service (CBETS) platform is only operating under PBOC guidance, so none of these platforms are CBDC-based according to the core part of the CBDC definition; a direct liability of the central bank.

26 Financial Institutions Sign On as direct participants with e-CNY Center International (SCIO)

[June 17, 2026] The State Council Information Office of China (SCIO) announced that the e‑CNY International Operation Center, which operates under the guidance of the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, has enrolled 26 institutions as direct participants on its Cross-Border e-CNY Transfer Services (CBETS) platform. Since the beginning of 2026, the e-CNY International Operations Center, which commenced operations in September 2025, has upgraded its three major platforms into the CBETS. CBETS provides on-chain and off-chain connectivity and 24/7 settlement, reducing reliance on three-to-five intermediary correspondent banks per transaction. The 26 aforementioned institutions include Standard Chartered China and Chinese bank branches in Thailand, Singapore, Laos, and Qatar. [SCIO]

e-CNY International Operation Center Officially Launched in Shanghai (PBOC)

[September 25, 2025] The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) formally launched the e‑CNY International Operation Center in Shanghai to provide dedicated infrastructure for cross‑border use of the digital renminbi, framed as part of a broader upgrade of monetary and payment systems. The center’s three core “business platforms” are a cross‑border digital payment platform, a blockchain service platform, and a digital asset platform, together supporting e‑CNY cross‑border settlement, asset tokenization, and related digital financial services. Institutionally, the PBOC’s Digital Currency Institute will build and operate these systems, with a mandate to connect domestic and foreign financial infrastructures and support international operation of e‑CNY. [PBOC]

BTW if you want to see a complete database of my DFC-related posts going back years, including many that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, click here.

FYI 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 (20260711)

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026 ~ kiffmeister

EIB Issues First DLT-native Commercial Paper on Clearstream’s D7 Platform (Clearstream)

Clearstream’s D7 distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform hosted the European Investment Bank’s (EIB’s) first natively tokenized, euro‑denominated commercial paper issuance, following recent European Central Bank (ECB) collateral eligibility decisions and within Central Securities Depositories Regulation‑compliant infrastructure. The EUR 77.5 million, 10‑day instrument was distributed into the international Eurobond market and then mobilized as Eurosystem‑eligible collateral via Clearstream’s triparty collateral management and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) for refinancing with the Bundesbank, demonstrating end‑to‑end connectivity from primary issuance to central bank credit operations. This operationalizes tokenized short‑term securities as usable central bank collateral, advancing the practical integration of DLT into regulated European capital markets, while leaving open broader questions on scalability, interoperability across collateral pools, and long‑term treatment of DLT‑native assets in monetary and prudential frameworks. [Clearstream]

Bitcoin Market Segmentation and Regulatory Effect (BdF)

A Banque de France (BdF) working paper by Mathilde Dufouleur argues that effective, well‑designed national crypto regulation reduces Bitcoin price segmentation across jurisdictions by strengthening convergence to the U.S. dollar benchmark, with important compositional effects across regulatory types. Using a database of implemented measures in 28 countries since 2009, matched to local Bitcoin prices in 22 currencies from 2013–2024, the paper shows that the Law of One Price fails, but that higher regulatory intensity generally narrows cross‑country price gaps via lower local prices and greater integration. Reliability‑oriented frameworks—extensions of securities, banking and payment laws, regulatory sandboxes, and legalization of crypto‑related investments—are associated with both improved price convergence and, in many cases, higher local prices, whereas partial bans targeting financial institutions increase deviations and isolate markets. Financial integrity regulation lowers local prices, consistent with a meaningful share of illicit or anonymity‑driven demand, but has mixed effects on deviations, leaving open the question of how far compliance regimes alone can integrate crypto markets without broader financial‑sector participation. [BdF]

BTW if you want to see a complete database of my DFC-related posts going back years, including many that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, click here.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20260602)

June 2, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ kiffmeister

MoneyGram Launches MGUSD Stablecoin (MoneyGram)

MoneyGram announced the launch of its MGUSD U.S. dollar stablecoin to underpin its global remittance and payments network. MGUSD is framed as an infrastructure layer integrated into a self-custodial wallet in the MoneyGram app, initially in the United States, using Bridge as regulated issuer, M0 smart contracts and Stellar for settlement, with Fireblocks providing custody. Unresolved are regulatory treatment across markets, interoperability with other stablecoins and systems, and how issuance and reserves will be supervised at scale. [MoneyGram]

Advancing Digital Payments in Bhutan (ADB)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) published an assessment of Bhutan’s digital payment infrastructure that included an update on Bhutan’s Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects, both retail and wholesale. The aim is to provide more accessible and secure financial services to a broader population, including underserved communities, and streamline cross‑border transactions, including by reducing the need for correspondent banking relationships and simplifying currency conversion processes in international trade. However, the ADB found that there are gaps in existing financial services regulations and payment systems rules will need to be addressed first. [ADB]

Call for Expressions of Interest to Participate in the Appia Contact Group (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) is inviting financial market stakeholders and public sector bodies to express their interest in participating in the Appia Contact Group Appia CG). The Appia project is aimed at enabling the settlement of distributed ledger technology (DLT) transactions using tokenized central bank money (CeBM) via a unified settlement ecosystem. It runs alongside the Pontes project, aimed at settling DLT transactions using API-based trigger and hash-link mechanisms and dedicated DLT cash wallets funded from TARGET accounts, which has its own contact group. The Appia CG will contribute to the Appia roadmap and advise on the operation and evolution of the Pontes pilot. Membership targets future users, contributors to Appia, relevant value‑chain actors, and industry associations. National central banks and selected European authorities participate as observers; the group is chaired and serviced by the European Central Bank and meets quarterly, with work outputs generally published. [ECB]

The ECB Publishes List of Digital Euro Steering Committee Members (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published the members of the Eurosystem’s High-Level Task Force on Digital Euro, which steers the digital euro project and reports to the ECB’s Governing Council. It is made up of members from national central banks of the Eurosystem. [ECB]

BTW if you want to see a complete database of my DFC-related posts going back years, including many that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, click here.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20260527)

May 27, 2026May 27, 2026 ~ kiffmeister

Project Agorá: A Shared Programmable Platform for Wholesale Cross-Border Payments (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published an update on Project Agorá, a public-private collaboration convened by the and the Institute of International Finance (IIF). It proposes a two-layer distributed ledger platform for wholesale cross-border payments, combining tokenized central bank reserves with tokenized commercial bank deposits linked via smart contracts. The architecture explicitly preserves correspondent banking and the two-tier monetary system — a design choice that limits ambition considerably, since the structural inefficiencies of correspondent chains (nostro prefunding costs, corridor de-risking, access inequality) remain largely intact. The principal claimed advantages — atomic settlement eliminating credit risk, and parallel rather than sequential compliance processing — are real but narrow, and address wholesale volumes where settlement failures are costly rather than the access and cost problems motivating the G20 reform agenda. FX settlement and liquidity-saving mechanisms are out of scope. Governance arrangements, settlement finality across jurisdictions, cybersecurity at production scale, and coordinated financial crime information-sharing are all unresolved, leaving the prototype considerably further from deployment than the report’s tone suggests. [BIS]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20260128)

January 28, 2026January 28, 2026 ~ kiffmeister

Tether Launches USA₮, the Federally Regulated, Dollar-Backed Stablecoin (Tether)

Tether launched USA₮, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin specifically designed for the U.S. market under the GENIUS Act framework. Issued by Anchorage Digital Bank (America’s first federally regulated stablecoin issuer), USA₮ aims to provide institutions with a compliant digital dollar alternative while Tether’s global USD₮ continues operating worldwide. The stablecoin features Cantor Fitzgerald as reserve custodian, bank-grade compliance infrastructure, and is initially available on major exchanges including Bybit, Crypto.com, Kraken, OKX, and Moonpay. This launch represents Tether’s effort to strengthen U.S. dollar dominance in the digital economy while meeting American regulatory standards. The press release notes that Tether is the 17th-largest holder of U.S. Treasuries globally, ahead of sovereign holders including Germany, South Korea, and Australia. [Source: Tether]

ECB Paves Way for Acceptance of DLT-Based Assets as Eligible Eurosystem Collateral (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it will accept marketable assets issued using distributed ledger technology (DLT) as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations starting March 30, 2026. These DLT-based assets must meet standard Eurosystem collateral eligibility criteria and be available for settlement in systems compliant with the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR) and reachable via TARGET2-Securities (T2S). The Eurosystem is also launching a work plan to explore whether DLT-native assets not represented in traditional securities settlement systems could become eligible collateral in the future, taking a staggered approach that considers market developments and evolving regulations like the DLT Pilot Regime and Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). This initiative reflects the ECB’s commitment to supporting innovation and technological progress in financial markets while maintaining safety and efficiency standards. [Source: ECB]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

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! [Register here and get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code!]

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 (20251113)

November 13, 2025November 13, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

HKMA Announces New Phase of Project Ensemble (HKMA)

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched EnsembleTX, marking the new phase of Project Ensemble to enable real-value transactions in tokenized deposits and digital assets within a controlled pilot environment. Building on successful sandbox experiments since August 2024, this phase allows industry participants to settle digital asset transactions using tokenized deposits, initially focusing on transactions such as money market funds and real-time liquidity management. The project, running throughout 2026, will initially use the HKD RTGS system for interbank settlement and aims to facilitate 24/7 settlement in tokenized central bank money (CeBM), further developing Hong Kong’s tokenization ecosystem. HKMA and the Securities and Futures Commission will continue collaborating to advance practical applications of tokenization. [Source: HKMA]

BOE, MAS and BOT to Explore Cross-Border Synchronized FX Settlement (BOE)

The Bank of England (BOE), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced a collaborative project to examine the technical and policy aspects of synchronized settlement for foreign exchange (FX) transactions across borders. Building on insights from Project Meridian FX, the initiative will test interoperability and complex, multilateral use cases by leveraging simulated Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems and distributed ledger technology (DLT) environments. The goal is to enable atomic, real-time FX transactions that are fast, secure, and interoperable, potentially supporting payment-versus-payment FX settlement across various infrastructures and regulatory frameworks. [Source: BOE]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

The Cedi@60 Anniversary Currency Conference (Accra, Ghana, November 17-20) hosted by the Bank of Ghana, in partnership with Currency Research, will celebrate 60 years of the Ghanaian Cedi, bringing together leaders from across Africa and beyond to reflect on the currency’s legacy and chart its digital future. Learn about Ghana’s eCedi pilot and the future of sovereign digital currencies in Africa, and engage with innovators driving mobile money, QR code payments, and financial inclusion across the region. [Register here and get 15% off by using the Kiffmeister15 code!]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20251104)

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

I’ve updated my tabulation of the 110 central banks that have recently conducted launched, piloted, experimented with and/or researched retail central bank digital currency (#CBDC). This total is unchanged since the end-August update. It doesn’t include the two that started issuing retail CBDC and then shut the platforms down (Ecuador and Finland). Keep in mind that I don’t count all of the individual national central banks that are part of currency unions (e.g., the European or Eastern Caribbean Currency Unions)

RCBDC 202510 Tabulation Download

UBS, Chainlink Execute First Onchain Tokenized Fund Redemption (CoinDesk)

UBS completed the first on-chain redemption of a tokenized fund using Chainlink’s Digital Transfer Agent (DTA). The transaction involved the UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token (uMINT) on Ethereum, with DigiFT serving as the on-chain distributor. Through automation and integration of digital and traditional systems, UBS aims to streamline major processes such as order-taking, execution, and settlement, reducing operational complexity and accelerating processing times. This initiative, part of UBS Tokenize, demonstrates how smart contract technology and technical standards can enhance fund operations and expand possibilities for financial product composability, while also illustrating efforts to connect legacy banking systems to blockchain rails using technologies like Chainlink and Swift. [Source: UBS]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20251024)

October 24, 2025October 24, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Design Note – Alias Service (BOE)

The Bank of England (BOE) published a digital pound design note that explores how alternative aliases, such as mobile numbers, email addresses, or randomly generated codes, could improve convenience, privacy, and interoperability in retail payments. The note highlights that, when used as alternative identifiers for digital money accounts, aliases can improve the convenience, privacy and security of retail payments, while also supporting interoperability between different payment schemes and jurisdictions. The BOE proposes that a digital pound alias service should be integrated into its infrastructure, ensuring neutral mapping of aliases to user accounts irrespective of provider, but with careful safeguards for privacy. The preferred model would see the BOE host or orchestrate the service while potentially delegating data management to intermediaries (payment interface providers), balancing system control with innovation and privacy. [Source: BOE]

Bank of England Launches Synchronization Lab (BOE)

The BOE launched its Synchronization Lab, a non-live environment aimed at helping industry participants demonstrate and test synchronization use cases for the renewed real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service (RT2). The Lab enables potential synchronization operators, such as RTGS account holders, asset ledger operators, and end-customers, to experiment with and validate business models, technical designs, and settlement processes for synchronized (atomic) transactions in central bank money. Running for six months starting in spring 2026, it will provide a platform for hands-on prototyping and evaluation of different synchronization models, allowing participants to build, integrate, and demonstrate their solutions while the Bank gathers insights to refine the RTGS synchronization capability for future production. The initiative is complementary to the Bank’s other innovation programs but does not involve real-money payments or constitute a regulatory sandbox. [Source: BOE]

The BIS Financial Stability Institute (FSI) published a brief that analyzes regulatory approaches for stablecoin-related yield products, where crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) offer returns to holders of payment stablecoins, despite these tokens not being designed to generate on-chain yields. CASPs create returns through mechanisms such as lending, margin pools, DeFi protocols, or loyalty programs, which blur payment-investment boundaries and expose users to consumer protection risks, absent deposit insurance or strict oversight. While all surveyed jurisdictions prohibit issuers from directly remunerating stablecoin balances, regulation of CASP-provided yields varies: some (EU, Hong Kong) ban yield products entirely, some (Singapore) restrict them for retail users but allow for professionals, and others (US) currently lack explicit prohibitions. The paper highlights potential risks of these products, including consumer protection holes, financial stability vulnerabilities, and operational conflicts of interest. Addressing these risks may require a regulatory framework that cover CASPs’ stablecoin-related activities, close regulatory gaps and safeguard end users’ protection and financial stability. [Source: BIS FSI]

Vantage Bank and Custodia Launch Tokenized Deposit Platform for U.S. Banks (Custodia)

Vantage Bank and Custodia have launched a platform enabling U.S. community and regional banks to offer tokenized deposits and stablecoins, integrating these digital assets directly into online banking environments. This interoperable solution allows member banks to control their own wallets for tokenized deposits and stablecoins, shifting tokens seamlessly between regulatory categories while maintaining oversight and deposit stability. Early use cases include instant cross-border payments and flexible payroll options. The initiative distinguishes itself by addressing interoperability—creating a single token usable as both a tokenized deposit and a stablecoin—and offers open access to institutions of all sizes. Custodia’s compliance credentials ensure regulatory alignment, and the system is designed to preserve deposit stability within banks, and unify tokenized deposits and Avit stablecoins under a shared smart contract framework. Only traditional and tokenized deposits are FDIC insured; stablecoins remain uninsured and subject to regulatory risks. [Source: Custodia Bank]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

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]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20251015)

October 15, 2025October 15, 2025 ~ kiffmeister

Kazakhstan Digital Tenge CBDC Project Update (LinkedIn)

Binur Zhalenov, Chief Digital Officer of the National Bank of Kazakhstan provided an update on the central bank’s digital tenge R3 Corda-based digital currency (CBDC) pilot project. The project centers on programmable public finance—enabling conditional, automated fund disbursement in government spending. In this model, allocated funds (such as those for infrastructure contracts) proceed through the payment chain only when predefined criteria are satisfied: supplier licensing, price compliance, and project plan alignment. Funds that fail verification are automatically blocked, while those reaching final recipients convert to unrestricted currency. The framework extends to social welfare payments, where beneficiary verification triggers direct payment to service providers, and to transaction types such as vehicle purchases. The team currently collaborates with the Ministry of Finance and Treasury on approximately 100 implementation projects applying these conditional “purpose-bound” payment mechanisms. [Source: LinkedIn]

Reserve Bank of India Announces Unified Markets Interface (RBI)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shri Sanjay Malhotra announced that the central bank has conceptualised the Unified Markets Interface (UMI), as a next-generation financial market infrastructure. UMI will have the capability to tokenize financial assets and settlements using wholesale central bank’s digital currency (CBDC). He said that early results from the inaugural pilot on the issuance of certificates of deposit in improving market efficiency are encouraging. [Source: RBI]

A Money View of Offline Payment Functionality (LinkedIn)

G+D’s Lars Hupel posted a paper that explores the design and financial implications of offline payment functionality in the context of CBDCs and other payment systems, such as instant payment systems (IPS). The analysis is structured around three models: the classic CBDC (single central bank issuer), a multi-issuer system (commercial banks issue their own offline “digital cash”), and a single-issuer model operated by a private or non-central bank entity. The core argument is that while offline payments are desirable—and well understood for central bank-issued digital cash—adding offline capability to systems with multiple issuers introduces financial risks and complexities, primarily concerning the fungibility of liabilities and interbank settlement. Drawing on historical examples like Mondex, the paper suggests a single-issuer model is most practical, offering the advantages of offline payments without overburdening central banks or complicating risk management. The analysis is informed by the “money view,” which emphasizes the hierarchy of money and careful consideration of balance sheet mechanics for each model. [Source: LinkedIn]

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]

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:

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]