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☆ Digital bank robberies key risk for central bank e-money, BIS report warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Digital bank robberies and other cyber hacks will be a key risk for countries launching digital versions of their currencies, a new report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned. The BIS, dubbed the central bankers' central bank, has been overseeing much of the global development work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and its report is its most comprehensive assessment yet of the challenges. A worst case scenario though would be a cyber hack that saw money stolen from what would effectively be a central bank's digital vault. "Cyber security is a key risk for CBDCs," the report published on Wednesday said, adding they would have "far-reaching implications" for the way central banks currently operate. China is trialling a prototype digital yuan with 200 million users, while the European Central Bank has just begun two years of advanced-stage exploratory work.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Marc Jones, Christina Fincher Organizations: Def Con, REUTERS, Bank for International, BIS, CBDCs, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, Bahamas, Nigeria, China

☆ IMF, World Bank and BIS in first 'tokenisation' collaboration
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cecilia Skingsley attends a session on central bank digital currencies at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Three of the world's cornerstone institutions - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements - are to work together for the first time to "tokenise" some of the financial instruments that underpin their global work, a BIS official said on Tuesday. The trio will also work with Switzerland's central bank which has been pioneering tokenisation, the process of turning conventional assets into uniquely coded "tokens" that can be used in faster new systems. Their collaboration will initially focus on simple but still paper-based processes such as when richer countries donate into some of the World Bank's funds to support poorer parts of the world. She also touched on the new breed of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), repeating calls for some global rules and technology standards so they can work across the world and with existing payment systems.

Persons: Cecilia Skingsley, Elizabeth Frantz, Skingsley, Marc Jones, Matthew Lewis Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, Bank for International, BIS, Atlantic Council, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, London

☆ Mastercard says wide adoption of central bank digital currencies would be ‘difficult’ right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 01: A view of the MasterCard company logo on their stand during the Mobile World Congress on March 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joan Cros Garcia/Corbis via Getty Images)SINGAPORE — There isn't enough justification for the widespread use of central bank digital currencies right now, which makes broad adoption of such assets "difficult," Ashok Venkateswaran, Mastercard 's blockchain and digital assets lead for Asia-Pacific, told CNBC. A retail CBDC, which is the digital form of fiat currency issued by a central bank, caters to individuals and businesses, facilitating everyday transactions. This is different from a wholesale CBDC which is used exclusively by central banks, commercial banks and other financial institutions to settle large-value interbank transactions. But a lot of the central banks nowadays have gotten very innovative because they are working very closely with private companies like ours, to create that ecosystem," said the Asia-Pacific lead.

Persons: Joan Cros Garcia, Corbis, Ashok Venkateswaran, Venkateswaran, Kong's Organizations: MasterCard, Mobile, Congress, Getty Images, Mastercard, CNBC, Singapore FinTech, Monetary Fund, Atlantic Council, Hong Locations: BARCELONA, SPAIN, Barcelona, Spain, SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Singapore, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ Singapore to pilot use of wholesale central bank digital currencies in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ravi Menon, managing director of Monetary Authority of Singapore, speaks during the Singapore FinTech Festival in Singapore, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. SINGAPORE — Come 2024, Singapore will pilot the live issuance and use of wholesale central bank digital currencies, said Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. "I'm pleased to announce that MAS will pilot the live issuance of wholesale CBDCs to instantaneously support payments across commercial banks here," Menon said. MAS is the city-state's central bank and financial regulator. Wholesale CBDC is a digital currency issued by a central bank, that's used exclusively by central banks, commercial banks or other financial institutions to settle large-value interbank transactions.

Persons: Ravi Menon, Menon, I'm, that's Organizations: Monetary Authority of, Singapore FinTech Festival, Singapore FinTech, MAS Locations: Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore, SINGAPORE

☆ 'Not convinced' by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin: Former BOE advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'Not convinced' by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin: Former BOE advisorMichael Sheren, former advisor and co-founder of the Bank of England's fintech accelerator program, explains why he remains unconvinced by cryptocurrencies and why stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are the future of digital currencies.

Persons: BOE, Michael Sheren, cryptocurrencies Organizations: Bank of England's, Central Bank Digital

☆ IMF chief urges more proactive push for central bank digital currencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund has urged countries to make a more proactive push to develop central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Eleven countries, including a number in the Caribbean, and Nigeria, have already launched CBDCs. Around 120 others are exploring them, although progress and approaches differ widely and a few have even abandoned the idea altogether. Georgieva said that with technology advancing so rapidly, countries needed to push ahead with development now to avoid getting caught out in future.

Persons: Yuri Gripas, Kristalina Georgieva, Georgieva, Marc Jones, Paul Simao Organizations: Monetary Fund, REUTERS, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Caribbean, Nigeria, Singapore

☆ IMF says central bank digital currencies can replace cash: 'This is not the time to turn back'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE — Central bank digital currencies have the potential to replace cash, but adoption could take time, said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday. "CBDCs can replace cash which is costly to distribute in island economies," she said Wednesday at the Singapore FinTech Festival. CBDCs are the digital form of a country's fiat currency, which are regulated by the country's central bank. They are powered by blockchain technology, allowing central banks to channel government payments directly to households. Several central banks have already launched pilots or even issued a CBDC," the IMF said in a September report.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF, Singapore FinTech, Bank for International, Atlantic Council Locations: SINGAPORE — Central, Singapore

☆ SBF's conviction is the final nail in the coffin for crypto bros hoping to get rich quick
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven charges against him. AdvertisementAdvertisementA New York jury took less than five hours on Thursday to find Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven charges the FTX founder faced. Now facing up to 110 years in prison, SBF's conviction marks the final nail in the coffin for the coterie of crypto bros who got rich quick. Bankman-Fried also testified he believed regulation would help give FTX a competitive edge over rival crypto exchange Binance. That complaint includes one especially damning exchange, in which the SEC alleges Binance's chief compliance officer said:"we are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Crypto's, —, Renato Mariotti, that's, it's, SBF, Binance's, There's, Kwon, Luna, Elon Musk's, Joe Biden's Organizations: Service, bros, BlackRock, DMs, Securities, Exchange Commission, Binance, SEC, New York Magazine Locations: York, Japan, Washington, Binance, USA

☆ Analysis: Time for central bank digital currencies to prove their worth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A milestone move by the European Central Bank toward launching a digital euro within a few years means the time has come for the newest incarnation of money to prove its worth. A few countries have introduced central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), China is trialling a prototype yuan with 200 million users, India is gearing up for a pilot and some 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy are exploring digital cash. Commercial bankers fret about the costs and possible deposit bleeds as customers could move money into central bank accounts, while developing countries worry that an easily accessible digital dollar, euro or yuan could cause havoc in their systems. DEFINING A GLOBAL STANDARDA key unknown is whether the U.S. Federal Reserve or Bank of Japan will launch retail CBDCs. "The current adoption level of eNaira has been reflective of the early stage of CBDC awareness," the country's central bank said in a written response to questions, adding it had been "consistent" with expectations.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Josh Lipsky, Fabio Panetta, couldn't, Lee Braine, Bo Li, Atlantic Council's Lipsky, Lipsky, Marc Jones, MacDonald Dzirutwe, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, Reuters, Atlantic Council, Facebook, ECB, Barclays, Bank of, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, International Monetary Fund, Atlantic, Thomson Locations: China, India, Western, Nigeria, U.S, Canada, Bahamas, London, Lagos

☆ China FX regulator says CBDC features could improve monetary policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's official app for digital yuan is seen on a mobile phone next to 100-yuan banknotes in this illustration picture taken October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A Chinese foreign exchange regulator official said "programmable features" of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could help enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy tools, state media reported on Friday. China is among a host of countries developing their own CBDCs - digital tokens issued by central banks - although adoption is still in its early stages. Lu said he expected the People's Bank of China (PBOC) could explore the features to adjust rates of CBDC, which could also be used manage the macro economy. Transactions using China's CBDC, the e-CNY, hit 1.8 trillion yuan ($249.33 billion) at end-June.

Persons: Florence Lo, Lu Lei, Lu, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shanghai Securities News, People's Bank of China, Bank of International, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: China

☆ Legal fog over central bank digital currencies "unacceptable", BIS warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Agustin Carstens leaves after G-20 finance ministers and central banks governors family photo during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2018. His warning comes as central banks around the world push ahead with central bank digital currency (CBDC) development in a bid to make money more high tech and keep up with the features now offered by cryptocurrencies. Some 11 countries have already launched them and next month the European Central Bank is expected to receive the green light to start work on a digital euro. Carstens, whose organisation is overseeing much of the global test work, said central banks have a mandate to meet public demands and have also made significant investments into CBDCs. "It is simply unacceptable that unclear or outdated legal frameworks could hinder their deployment," added Carstens, the former governor of the Mexico's central bank.

Persons: Agustin Carstens, Yuri Gripas, Marc Jones, Josie Kao Organizations: IMF, Bank, REUTERS, Bank for International, BIS, cryptocurrencies, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S

☆ Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin travels the globe to keep crypto alive as the U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Today, the biggest challenge for Buterin and the ethereum community is making sure that it provides actual value to people. Buterin was named the world's youngest crypto billionaire at age 27 as the crypto market swelled to its peak in 2021. And he isn't, according to his own estimation, the be-all and end-all authority on the ethereum network. About the ethereum network, he says, "On the other hand, you've got your laptop. In terms of what's next for ethereum — Buterin says a big priority is focusing on privacy and scalability through zero-knowledge rollups.

Persons: Vitalik Buterin, Buterin, coder, doesn't, Czech Republic Pavel Sinagl, that's, clasped, Buterin wasn't, cryptocurrencies, Sam Bankman, Luna, they're, Dmitry, Vitalik, Dmitry Buterin, ethereum blockchains, you've, Satoshi Nakamoto, ethereum, — Buterin Organizations: CNBC PRAGUE, CNBC, Canadian, U.S . Tornado, Buterin, U.S, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, CFTC, People's Bank of China, tinker, Ethereum, Ethereum Foundation Locations: Prague, Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Netherlands, Paralelní Polis, Holešovice, China, U.S, Africa, Argentina, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, CBDCs, Moscow, ethereum, Denver, Paris

☆ Israel central bank says digital shekel launch an 'open question'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Bank of Israel in November 2021 stepped up its research and preparation for the possible issuance of a digital shekel to create a more efficient payments system after first considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in late 2017. "Whether or not we will issue a digital shekel is still an open question, as it is in most if not all other advanced economies," Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron said at a conference on digital currencies. Israel's central bank has been experimenting with a digital shekel with its Hong Kong counterpart and the Bank for International Settlements. Deputy Governor Andrew Abir said that for Israel, issuing a digital shekel would provide more competition in a financial system dominated by a few large banks and institutions. "I believe central banks should return to examine the possibility (of) remunerated CBDCs – that is, for the central bank to pay interest CBDC directly to the end users who hold it, and enjoy the security provided by the central bank.

Persons: Amir Yaron, Yaron, Israel, Andrew Abir, Abir, Steven Scheer, Alexander Smith, Mark Porter Organizations: The Bank of Israel, Bank of Israel, Hong Kong, Bank for International, Thomson Locations: Israel

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official said on Friday the central bank is "a long way" from any decision on whether it would issue its own digital currency, and added it would not do so without official support in Washington. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said while officials are investigating a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Fed was far from any decision. "Of course, investigation and research are very different from decision-making about next steps in terms of payments system development, and we are a long way from that." Barr's comments echo those of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who also has said the Fed would not move to issue a digital currency without explicit authorization from Congress. It is important to get the legislative and regulatory framework right before significant risks emerge," he said.

Persons: Michael Barr, Evelyn Hockstein, Barr, Jerome Powell, Pete Schroeder, Hugh Lawson, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, Philadelphia

☆ Fact Check-WEF did not announce CBDCs must be implanted to engage in society
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The World Economic Forum (WEF) did not announce that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) must be “implanted under your skin” for an individual to participate in society, as claimed in social media posts. The claim stems from an article published on July 10 by the People’s Voice website with the headline: “WEF Says CBDCs Must Be ‘Implanted Under Your Skin’ if You Want To Participate in Society" (ghostarchive.org/archive/QjVJW). The WEF did publish a white paper in June 2023 on the implementation of CBDCs, but it contains no mention of a need for people to implant CBDCs to engage in society (here). In the video, Werner criticises the concept of CBDCs, and questions at the end of the interviews what CBDCs will look like in the future. There is no evidence that the WEF announced CBDCs must be implanted into an individual’s skin for them to participate in society and the article making that claim cites an economist who is not affiliated with WEF.

Persons: “ WEF, CBDCs, Richard Werner, professorwerner.org, Ivor Cummins, Werner, Read Organizations: Economic, People’s, YouTube, Forum, Reuters, WEF

☆ PayPal’s stablecoin may be a payments catalyst, but it will face these near-term hurdles, BofA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

PayPal 's new stablecoin — known as PYUSD — has the potential to facilitate payments , but it must overcome several headwinds before it takes off, Bank of America said. "Over the longer term, we expect PYUSD to experience additional adoption headwinds as competition from [central bank digital currencies] and yield-bearing stablecoins increases," the analyst added. "Over the longer term, we expect PYUSD to experience additional adoption headwinds as competition from CBDCs and yield-bearing stablecoins increases," he said. "Investors may have been fine holding non-yield bearing stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC, when rates were close to zero, but yield-bearing stablecoins will likely become increasingly available and attractive." Instead, Bank of America expects PYUSD to target the "largely untapped" market for blockchain-enabled asset transfers, payments and remittances.

Persons: —, headwinds Shah, PYUSD, Shah, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: PayPal, Bank of America Locations: U.S

☆ Russia to widen scope of digital rouble testing from Aug. 15 -central bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Elena Fabrichnaya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia, like many countries, has been developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) - digital tokens issued by central banks - over the last couple of years in a bid to modernise its financial system and head off cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. "We expect to test operations with real customers," the central bank's First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova said on Wednesday. The pilot test will include opening digital wallets, making purchases with digital roubles and transfers between around 600 customers and 30 companies from 11 cities. The digital rouble is scheduled to be widely introduced in 2025. Next year, the central bank will expand the list of participants, with another 19 banks keen to join the pilot, Skorobogatova said.

Persons: Maxim, Olga Skorobogatova, Skorobogatova, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Council, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Caribbean, Nigeria, U.S, China, Ukraine

☆ Limited support for central bank digital currencies in global investment industry survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - The most comprehensive survey of the global investment industry on central bank digital currencies to date has shown both limited support and a lack of understanding of how a digital dollar, euro, yen or pound would work. The survey carried out by the CFA Institute, a worldwide association for bankers, investors and finance chiefs, found that only 42% of the more than 4,150 respondents who took part believed that central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, should be launched. Only 37% of respondents from developed markets said they favoured a CBDC versus 61% from emerging markets. Data privacy was also a major concern for 64% of respondents in developed markets and 57% in developing economies. Less than a quarter of respondents under 30 opposed them, the survey found, compared with 37% among those over 55.

Persons: Olivier Fines, Andrew Bailey, Marc Jones, Leslie Adler Organizations: CFA Institute, CFA, European Union, People's Bank of, Bank of England, CBDCs, Thomson Locations: Bahamas, Nigeria, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, China, People's Bank of China, India, Central

☆ India cenbank calls on more lenders to offer digital rupee - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nearly two dozen central banks across emerging and advanced economies are expected to have digital currencies in circulation by the end of the decade, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found in a survey, published on Monday. The RBI aims to reach a target of one million CBDC transactions per day by the end of this year, RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said on Tuesday. There were 1.3 million customers and 0.3 million merchants, who used CBDC as of June 2023, he said. "We are in the advanced stage of submitting a CBDC pilot request to the RBI. The central bank has also asked smaller banks to seek feedback from those currently conducting the pilots, the bankers said.

Persons: T Rabi Sankar, Siddhi Nayak, Sohini Goswami Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, Bank for International Settlements, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, Siddhi, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Bank, BOB.NS

☆ Twenty-four central banks will have digital currencies by 2030 - BIS survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Karin Strohecker | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Central banks around the globe have been studying and working on digital versions of their currencies for retail use to avoid leaving digital payments to the private sector amid an accelerating decline of cash. Most of the new Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will emerge in the retail space, where eleven central banks could join peers in the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Nigeria which already run live digital retail currencies, the BIS found in its survey of 86 central banks conducted late 2022. On the wholesale side, which in future could allow financial institutions to access new functionalities thanks to tokenisation, nine central banks could launch CBDCs, the BIS said. "Enhancing cross-border payments is among the key drivers of central banks' work on wholesale CBDCs," the authors of the report wrote. Pilot testing in China now reaches 260 million people and two other big emerging economies, India and Brazil, plan to launch digital currencies next year.

Persons: Francois Lenoir, CBDC, Karin Strohecker, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Francois Lenoir LONDON, Bank for International Settlements, Central Bank Digital, BIS, Swiss National Bank, European Central Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica, Nigeria, China, India, Brazil, Silicon, stablecoins

☆ Central bankers lay out digital currency cyber threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - The central bankers' central bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has laid out a seven-point plan designed to help countries prevent cyber hacks on the new wave of digital national currencies under development. The BIS acts as an umbrella body for the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and other central banks around the world and has been co-ordinating a lot of work on CBDC development. Hackers have struck a number of central banks in recent years from Denmark to Bangladesh. Specifically, it calls on central banks to:• Recognise the complexity and new threat landscape brought by CBDC systems. It also called for central banks to use the global "MITRE ATT&CK" database of past cyber attacks, and for an "official extension" of the MITRE ATT&CK framework to help central banks beef up their security measures.

Persons: MITRE, Marc Jones, Susan Fenton Organizations: Bank for International Settlements, BIS, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Polaris, Thomson Locations: Denmark, Bangladesh

☆ Study shows 130 countries exploring central bank digital currencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - A total of 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy are now exploring digital versions of their currencies, with almost half in advanced development, pilot or launch stages, a closely-followed study shows. Eleven countries, including a number in the Caribbean, and Nigeria, have already launched central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as they are known, while pilot testing in China now reaches 260 million people and covers 200 scenarios from e-commerce to government stimulus payments. Two other big emerging economies, India and Brazil, also plan to launch digital currencies next year. U.S. President Joe Biden ordered government officials to assess the risks and benefits of creating a digital dollar in March 2022. A worker at the Lithuanian mint holds a silver coin, produced to be exchanged for sets of digital currency released by Lithuanian central bank in Vilnius, Lithuania June 1, 2020.

Persons: Joe Biden, Andrius, Marc Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: Council, European Central Bank, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Big Tech, Visa, Mastercard, Atlantic Council, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: U.S, Argentina, Caribbean, Nigeria, China, India, Brazil, United States, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russia, Venezuela, Europe, Ukraine, Sweden, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, CBDCs, Senegal, Ecuador

☆ SNB to launch digital currency pilot - chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 26 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is to issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Switzerland's SIX digital exchange as part of a pilot, the central bank's chairman said at a conference in Zurich on Monday. As opposed to wholesale CBDCs which use tokenised securities, the SNB has long been cautious about the use of public, or retail, CBDCs. Jordan said he was concerned about potential risks retail CBDCs could have for the financial system, while the use of them was more difficult to control. "We do not exclude that we will never introduce retail [CBDCs] but nevertheless we are a little bit prudent at the moment," he said. "It is the one way that retail households can hold central bank money," she said.

Persons: Thomas Jordan, Jordan, Andrea Maechler, Noele Illien, John Revill, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Switzerland's SIX, Zero, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Zurich, Central, CBDCs, Switzerland

☆ IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ahmed Eljechtimi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RABAT, June 19 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working on a platform for central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) to enable transactions between countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. "For this reason at the IMF, we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform," she said. The IMF wants central banks to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies that will allow global interoperability. A CBDC is a digital currency controlled by the central bank, while cryptocurrencies are nearly always decentralised. Already 114 central banks are at some stage of CBDC exploration, "with about 10 already crossing the finish line", she said.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, Georgieva, CBDCs, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson Locations: RABAT, African, Rabat, Morocco

☆ Kenya central bank says digital currency not a 'compelling priority'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, June 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's central bank does not consider the issuance of a digital currency a "compelling priority" but it will continue monitoring developments in the area to help future decisions on issuance, it said on Friday. The bank invited views from the public on the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in February last year, in a shift from its original opposition to crypto assets, but it has decided not to issue any. "Implementation of a CBDC in Kenya may not be a compelling priority in the short to medium term." The East African nation is renowned for the wide usage of mobile money payments. Nigeria became the first African country to launch a digital currency in 2021.

Persons: Duncan Miriri, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Nigeria

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