Tag: Regulation

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250430)

~ kiffmeister

UK Treasury unveils draft crypto-asset regulatory framework (Bitcoin.com)

“The UK Treasury (HMT) published a draft Statutory Instrument (SI) and a Policy Note detailing the UK’s upcoming financial services regulatory framework for crypto-assets, including stablecoins. Following proposals outlined in October 2023 and reaffirmed in November 2024, the draft SI establishes new regulated activities, such as operating crypto-asset trading platforms and issuing stablecoins, mandating authorization and oversight by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Policy Note clarifies the intended policy outcomes, with additional provisions for market abuse and admissions and disclosures regimes to follow. The UK Treasury welcomes technical feedback on the draft SI until May 23, 2025, to refine the regulations.” [Read more at HMT]

SEC punts decisions on XRP, DOGE ETFs (CoinTelegraph)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed deciding on whether to approve two proposed crypto-asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding Dogecoin and XRP until June 2025. The postponements were responses to March requests from U.S. exchanges NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX Exchange to list Bitwise’s Dogecoin (DOGE) and Franklin Templeton’s XRP ETFs, respectively. [Read the DOGE response here and the XRP one here]

Digital commerce payment preferences by region (Fuse)

Fuse published a guide to digital commerce payment preferences by region, unpacking the key trends shaping payment behaviors in key regions around the world: APAC, Europe, Latin America, MEA, and North America. Globally, digital commerce’s share of total sales was 20.3% in 2024 and expected to surpass 21% in 2025. Digital wallets make up half of all digital commerce payments (by value) around the world. Credit and debit card usage, separate from their usage in digital wallets, account for 22% and 12%, respectively, but there is a lot of regional variance (see figure below). [Read more at Fuse]

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 (20250428)

~ kiffmeister

FRB withdraws guidance for banks related to their crypto-asset activities (FRB)

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) rescinded its 2022 supervisory letter establishing an expectation that the banks it regulates and supervises provide advance notification of planned or current crypto-asset activities. As a result, the FRB will no longer expect banks to provide notification and will instead monitor banks’ crypto-asset activities through the normal supervisory process. The FRB is also rescinding its 2023 supervisory letter regarding the supervisory nonobjection process for state member bank engagement in dollar token activities. [Read more at the FRB]

Unlike the other U.S. banking regulators, the Fed did not roll back its guidance that blocks banks from engaging directly with crypto-assets. This creates operational challenges for banks looking to offer crypto custody services, particularly around covering gas fees for on-chain transactions — a standard practice for crypto custodians but restricted under guidance that was left in place. The Fed also continues to prohibit banks from issuing stablecoins on permissionless blockchains, while the other regulatory agencies rolled that back. [Read more from Caitlin Long on X]

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 (20250411)

~ kiffmeister

Digital Pound Lab now accepting applicants (BOE)

The Bank of England (BOE) is now accepting applications to conduct hands-on experimentation to explore the feasibility of different digital pound (DP) use cases in a simulated environment (no real customers or real money payments will be involved). Its goals include assessing the viability of potential business models for payment interface providers (PIPs) and external service Interface providers (ESIPs), and assessing the requirements necessary for a DP to provide a platform for innovation. The Lab is expected to run from August 2025 to July 2026, during which there will be two phases (see below). Applications are open to all private and public sector companies and organisations from technology, payments, banking, retail and other relevant sectors. [Read more at the BOE]

Brazilian Drex support from external partners wanes (Valor Economico)

Valor Economico is reporting that some of the firms involved in the Banco Central do Brasil Drex (BCB) wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) project are reducing resource commitments to it. This is reportedly due to frustrations with the BCB’s privacy requirements to hide transaction data from all the banks involved except the one that is executing it, while allowing the BCB to see everything and be able to reverse transaction with a court order to that effect. All this must be achieved without harming the digital currency’s programmability and composability allowed by its distributed ledger technology (DLT) based platform. [Read more at Valor Economico]

Ripple and SEC file joint motion to pause appeals (CoinDesk)

Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have filed a joint motion to pause their appeals to finalize a potential settlement in their legal spat. It goes back to December 2020, when the SEC sued the company over an alleged $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering. In 2023 Federal district judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million fine which was significantly less than the $2 billion sought by the SEC. Hence, on October 10, 2024 SEC filed a notice of appeal and a week later Ripple responded with its own cross-appeal. [Read more on X]

Latvian central bank opens payment system to nonbanks (Fintechnews Baltic)

xpate, an electronic money institution licensed in Latvia, has become the first non-ank payment service provider to join the Latvijas Banka Electronic Clearing System (EKS). This marks the first instance within the euro area where a central bank has enabled direct participation of non-bank payment service providers in a system it maintains. As of October 17, 2024, Latvijas Banka has opened access to the EKS for licensed payment and electronic money institutions, as well as credit unions. [Read more at Latvijas Banka]

Leveraging tokenization for payments and financial transactions (BIS)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Consultative Group on Innovation and the Digital Economy (CGIDE) published a paper on theoretical and real-world use cases of tokenization, which include initiatives run by the Central Bank of Brazil and the Central Bank of Colombia, and private sector-led initiatives discussed within the CGIDE during 2023-24. In addition to use cases and progress to date, the report also explores some preconditions and other considerations for tokenization. [Read more at the BIS]

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 (20250407)

~ kiffmeister

Certain stablecoins aren’t securities, SEC says in new guidance (Cointelegraph)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a notice that deems that “covered stablecoins” are considered “non-securities” and exempt from transaction reporting requirements. Covered stablecoins are those that don’t offer holders the right to receive any interest, profit, or other returns, don’t reflect any investment or other ownership interest in the stablecoin issuer or any other third party, don’t afford holders any governance rights with respect to the issuer or stablecoin, and/or don’t provide holders with any financial benefit or loss based on the issuer or any third party’s financial performance. These criteria are consistent with regulations stipulated in the Senate’s GENIUS stablecoin bill, and the House of Representatives’ Stable Act of 2025. [Read more at the SEC]

Euroclear joins HKMA’s Project Ensemble (Euroclear)

Euroclear has joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Project Ensemble, aimed at using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle interbank tokenized exposits and assets. As an Architecture Community member, Euroclear will contribute by developing a set of industry standards to support interoperability in Hong Kong’s tokenization ecosystem. [Read more at Euroclear]

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 (20250329)

~ kiffmeister

BCB report on Drex proof-of-concept project Phase 1 (BCB)(Updated with correct link)

Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) published a report on the main developments in the first phase of its Drex central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept work, which took place between July 2023 and October 2024. (None of the Drex tests involved real clients or assets, but rather fictitious ones.) The report highlighted the trilemma of finding a solution that balances decentralization, programmability, and privacy issues at the same time, while being compliant to the Brazilian legal framework. I’m still digesting a Google Translate version (it’s only available in Portuguese) of the 73-page report, and may come back with more detail later. [Read more at the BCB]

FDIC Reverses U.S. Crypto Banking Policy That Demanded Prior Approvals (CoinDesk)

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) will no longer instruct banks to get prior sign-off before they engage in crypto-related activities — a standard that was set in 2022 that effectively blocked FDIC-supervised institutions from engaging in such activities as they waited for approvals that never came. Earlier in March 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rescinded its similar 2022 guidance. [Read more at the FDIC and OCC]

Interoperability of blockchain systems and the future of payments (NY Fed)

The New York Fed published research that provides empirical evidence of limited interoperability in crypto-asset markets. It examined the price relation between native and bridged USDC and USDT stablecoins on multiple blockchains and bridges. Stablecoins are good candidates for studying interoperability because they are nonspeculative by design (each is intended to represent $1), and in principle, a bridged representation of an asset represents value that is identical to the original asset. A higher degree of interoperability in blockchain systems would allow traders to compress any divergence in prices between stablecoins and their bridged representations and push the correlation between the prices of two stablecoins closer to one. However, it found surprisingly high price variation across all of them, suggesting limited interoperability. [Read more at the NY Fed]

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 (20250326)

~ kiffmeister

Ripple to get $75M of court-ordered fine back from SEC, drops cross-appeal (Coin Desk)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will return $75 million of the $125 million-court ordered fine paid by Ripple last year. The proposed settlement, subject to commissioner and court approval, comes a week after the SEC agreed to drop its appeal of U.S. District Court judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 ruling that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail exchanges did not violate federal securities laws. Torres found that only Ripple’s institutional sales violated securities laws, ordering Ripple to pay the $125 million fine. The fine was less than the nearly $2 billion in civil penalties, disgorgement and prejudgement interest the SEC initially requested, and the SEC had filed an appeal, and Ripple filed a cross ppeal of the SEC’s appeal. As part of the pending settlement agreement, the SEC will drop its appeal and ask the court to lift the standard injunction imposed against Ripple, and Ripple will drop its cross-appeal [Read more on X]

Are CBDC projects moving forward without public buy-In? (Finextra)

The Warwick University Business School (WBS) Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology published its response the Bank of England’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) consultation. One of its main points was that, even with a strong policy case, a digital pound will only fulfill its purpose if people adopt it. In the United Kingdom, relatively strong retail payments landscape would present a challenge in this regard. However, two particular pain points suggest a pathway to adoption; merchant frustration over high card payment costs and lack of alternatives, and clunky person-to-person (P2P) payments. A digital pound is not the only solution here, but perhaps these concerns suggest a pathway to adoption. However, most consumers don’t directly bear payment costs (merchants) and prices typically remain the same regardless of the payment method, so there’s little direct incentive for users to switch, complicating adoption. And anxieties around CBDC privacy are ironic in the context of widespread reliance on payment systems that are not private, but maybe a CBDC with cash-like attributes could carve out a unique niche. [Read more at the WBS]

Custodia Bank partners Vantage for first US bank ‘stablecoin’ issuance (Ledger Insights)

Custodia Bank has partnered with Texas community bank Vantage to mint, transfer and redeem a deposit token on the Ethereum blockchain. The reason for using quotes around the term “stablecoin” is because deposit tokens on a permissionless blockchain appear similar to stablecoins, but if they are purely backed by deposits and issued by a bank, then economically and legally they are different – they’re bank deposits using a different technology. That’s why the stablecoin bills progressing through Congress exclude bank-issued crypto-assets backed by deposits. [Read more on X]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250321)

~ kiffmeister

SEC says certain proof of work crypto mining is not a security (Ledger Insights)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a note saying that solo and pooled mining for proof of work blockchains will generally not be considered to involve securities. The crux of the argument is that in both cases the expectation of profit is based on the efforts of the miner, not of others. The Howey securities test requires the expectation of profit based on the efforts of third parties. Solo mining involves a miner mining covered crypto-assets using their own computational resources, working alone or together with others to operate a node and mine. Mining pools involves miners combining their computational resources with other miners to increase their chances of successfully validating transactions and mining new blocks on the network. Reward payments may flow from the network directly to the miners or indirectly to them through the pool operator. [Read more at the SEC]

US Treasury Lifts Sanctions Against Ethereum Mixer Tornado Cash (Decrypt)

On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Treasury delisted Ethereum coin mixing service Tornado Cash from its list of parties sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reversing course after first blacklisting the service in 2022. The removal was actually a bit tardy because the Treasury had been required to remove it by March 17, 2025. In November, a fifth circuit judge ruled that the Treasury had overstepped its authority by targeting Tornado Cash’s smart contracts. The judge wrote that autonomous software cannot be classified as property and therefore cannot be sanctioned. Subsequently, Department of Justice prosecutors asked for and given until March 17, 2025 to remove Tornado Cash from the OFAC black list. [Read more at Decrypt]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • The Crypto Assets Conference (Frankfurt, March 26) will delve into the advancements in digital assets, tokenization, crypto assets, web3, and more, through insightful talks, interactive debates, and presentations by industry experts, founders, investors, and representatives from public institutions. [Register here and get a 10% discount]
  • The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250319)

~ kiffmeister

SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse says (Coin Telegraph)

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will drop its appeal in the lawsuit it’s been pursuing against the firm for the past four years. The SEC sued the company over an alleged $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering in December 2020. In 2023 Federal district judge Analisa Torres ruled that programmatic sales to public buyers and distributions of XRP to Ripple Labs employees did not constitute the sale of unregistered securities. However, she concluded that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP constituted the unregistered offer and sale of investment contracts in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. In August 2024 she ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million fine which was significantly less than the $2 billion sought by the SEC. Hence, in October 2024 SEC filed a notice of appeal that has been hanging over Ripple’s head until possibly now. In any case, it may take several weeks for the case to be officially withdrawn because any decision will have to be subject to Commission vote and approval. [Read more on X]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • The Crypto Assets Conference (Frankfurt, March 26) will delve into the advancements in digital assets, tokenization, crypto assets, web3, and more, through insightful talks, interactive debates, and presentations by industry experts, founders, investors, and representatives from public institutions. [Register here and get a 10% discount]
  • The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250314)

~ kiffmeister

Iraq moves towards issuing a central bank digital currency (INA)

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported that Muzhir Mohammad Saleh, the financial advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, said that the Central Bank of Iraq is planning to issue a digital currency (CBDC) as a “gradual alternative” to bank notes. He added that “digital cash will maintain its traditional functions as a unit of account, payments and savings, with the possibility of using it online and smart phones, which will contribute to developing a more stable and efficient financial environment.” [Read more at INA]

Canadian Bitcoin Ownership in 2023: Key Takeaways (Bank of Canada)

The Bank of Canada published an update on crypto-asset ownership in Canada using data from the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey conducted in late 2023. Bitcoin ownership remained stable at around 10% in 2023 and continues to be concentrated among men, younger individuals and those with higher income and levels of education. The use of Bitcoin for payments remains limited, with most owners viewing it primarily as an investment. Bitcoin remains the dominant holding among Canadians, with a median value of C$500. [Read more at the Bank of Canada]

FCA seeks views on removing the £100 contactless limit (U.K. FCA)

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published consultation paper that proposes removing the £100 contactless payment limit. It was raised from £45 in 2021, just a year after a rise from £30 amid a surge in tap and pay during the Covid-19 pandemic. By removing the limit, U.K. families and businesses could benefit from greater choice, flexibility and smoother purchases. Also, the regulator said that making regulation less prescriptive would also give firms greater control and could promote innovative payment methods or fraud prevention solutions. One option put forward is to allow firms, who use technology to reinforce strong fraud controls, to set their own limits as happens in the United States. [Read more at the FCA]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • The Crypto Assets Conference (Frankfurt, March 26) will delve into the advancements in digital assets, tokenization, crypto assets, web3, and more, through insightful talks, interactive debates, and presentations by industry experts, founders, investors, and representatives from public institutions. [Register here and get a 10% discount]
  • The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20250313)

~ kiffmeister

SEC delays decision on XRP, Solana, Litecoin, Dogecoin ETFs (Coin Telegraph)

On March 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed decisions on multiple crypto-asset exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings until May 2025. However, this is widely viewed as standard procedure that all of the currently approved crypto-asset ETFs have gone through before. Of note, as of of March 12, nine companies have filed with the SEC for XRP ETF products. Beyond dedicated XRP ETF filings, at least two asset managers have included XRP in broader crypto ETF products. [Read more at Coin Telegraph]

Consumer attitudes towards a central bank digital currency (ECB)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published a paper that reported the results of a series of experiments in a population-representative survey of European consumers to examine their attitudes towards the possible introduction of a digital euro. The study found that test subjects who were shown a short video explaining the key features of the digital euro increases the likelihood of adoption by 12 percentage points relative to a control group that is not shown the video. Second, it found that test subjects would allocate a relatively small fraction from a positive wealth shock to digital euros and their allocation to other liquid assets would be little affected. Third, it found that holding limits in the range of €1,000 to €10,000 would have insignificant differential effects on the composition of liquid asset holdings. Lastly, 55% of test subjects said that they will not adopt the digital euro due to strong preferences for existing forms of payment. [Read more at the ECB]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • The Crypto Assets Conference (Frankfurt, March 26) will delve into the advancements in digital assets, tokenization, crypto assets, web3, and more, through insightful talks, interactive debates, and presentations by industry experts, founders, investors, and representatives from public institutions. [Register here and get a 10% discount]
  • The Digital Euro Conference 2025 (Frankfurt, March 27) will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. When you register, get 20% off the regular ticket price by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.