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☆ Chinese digital currency stocks surge amid new efforts to promote e-CNY
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, April 24 (Reuters) - Chinese digital currency-related stocks jumped on Monday in a weak broader market, amid the latest measures that China is taking to promote the use of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. "The development marks the latest trial China is doing to promote its e-CNY," said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, referring to the digital yuan. Shares in Global Infotech Co (300465.SZ) soared 13% by midday, Chutian Dragon Co (003040.SZ) surged 8%, while Newland Digital Technology Co (000997.SZ) and Northking Information Technology Co (002987.SZ) also rose. However, the three people all said they don't find adequate scenarios to spend the digital yuan in their daily life. "I don't know how to use it, to be honest, no merchant around me receives digital yuan," Yang told Reuters, only giving her surname as she is not authorised to speak to the media.

☆ China makes major push in its ambitious digital yuan project
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Like cryptocurrency, the digital yuan incorporates some elements of blockchain technology: Every transaction is recorded and traceable in a digital ledger. Since last October, Changshu has been paying the transit subsidies for some government employees in digital yuan. It has also asked privately-owned apps to actively promote the digital yuan. Alipay began trialing digital yuan payments in 2021, and Tencent (TCEHY) announced last year that it would also start supporting the digital yuan in its WeChat Pay wallet. After all, industry leaders Alipay and WeChat Pay already have hundreds of millions of users who are familiar with their services.

☆ Fed Governor Bowman casts doubt on the need for a U.S. digital dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman expressed skepticism over the possibility of a digital U.S. dollar, noting Tuesday the multiple risks such a system could impose. For the past few years, Fed officials have been studying whether to join a handful of other central banks to implement its own type of cryptocurrency. However, she said an interest-bearing Fed digital dollar could provide harmful competition for banks, limiting their ability to lend. Like other Fed officials, Bowman said the looming implementation of the FedNow payments system also will address many of the needs cited by central bank digital currency promoters. Perhaps the CBDC's biggest Fed advocate has since left the central bank: Former Governor Lael Brainard is now director of the National Economic Council.

☆ Fed's Bowman sees potential for interbank digital dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 18 (Reuters) - A so-called "wholesale" central bank digital currency could hold promise for the future settlement of certain financial market transactions and processing international payments, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday. While a digital dollar could make sense for interbank transactions, there could be unintended consequences like disruptions to the banking system if the Fed were to design a central bank digital currency that would be directly available to the public, Bowman said in prepared remarks for an event at Georgetown University's Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. The U.S. central bank has not yet said if it would embark on an effort to create a central bank digital currency, and has previously said it would seek authorization from Congress and the executive branch before doing so. Reporting by Ann Saphir and Hannah Lang; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto stablecoins might need limits to avoid disruptions to financial stability, warns Bank of England
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Regulators may need to introduce limits on the use of stablecoins in payments to prevent potential threats to financial stability, an official at the Bank of England warned Monday. Stablecoins are cryptocurrency tokens that aim to mirror the value of traditional assets such as fiat currencies. Such assets could include deposits at the Bank of England "or very highly liquid securities," he added. The Bank of England said in February that it was "likely" Britain would need a central bank digital currency if current trends around the decline in cash use continue. The Bank of England, Treasury and industry are still debating concerns over how such currencies would be implemented, such as the privacy of people transacting with them and implications for financial stability.

☆ Yellen says US banks may tighten lending and negate need for more rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said banks are likely to become more cautious and may tighten lending further in the wake of recent bank failures, possibly negating the need for further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. "Banks are likely to become somewhat more cautious in this environment," Yellen said in the interview, which is scheduled to air on Sunday. But Yellen said she was not yet seeing anything "dramatic enough or significant enough" in this area to alter her economic outlook. Some Fed officials have said the U.S. central bank should adopt a more cautious footing as they expect banks to restrict lending in the months ahead. Asked whether sanctions could erode the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency, Yellen acknowledged potential risks.

☆ Yellen says U.S. banks may tighten lending and negate need for more Fed rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said banks are likely to become more cautious and may tighten lending further in the wake of recent bank failures, possibly negating the need for further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. "Banks are likely to become somewhat more cautious in this environment," Yellen said in the interview, which is scheduled to air on Sunday. She said that would lead to a restriction in credit in the economy that "could be a substitute for further interest rate hikes that the Fed needs to make." But Yellen said she was not yet seeing anything "dramatic enough or significant enough" in this area to alter her economic outlook. Some Fed officials have said the U.S. central bank should adopt a more cautious footing as they expect banks to restrict lending in the months ahead.

☆ Japan convening panel on digital yen as BOJ pilot scheme gets underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Central banks around the world have scrambled to develop digital currencies to modernize financial systems and facilitate domestic and cross-border payments. But Japan remains undecided on whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the BOJ has said the pilot programme may last for several years. "We understand the BOJ's study is making a steady headway," a finance ministry official told reporters. "However, we have not at all decided on whether Japan will issue a CBDC." The BOJ and Financial Services Agency will attend the panel sessions as observers.

The finance ministry will set up a panel of experts as early as April to discuss the feasibility of issuing a digital yen, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The step will come after the central bank's decision to start in April a pilot programme to test the use of a digital yen, moving Japan closer to issuing a CBDC in several years. The central bank has said the pilot programme may last for several years. Some laws may need to be revised if the government were to start issuing a CBDC for public use. Public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday the finance ministry was considering setting up an advisory panel in April to discuss the possibility of a digital yen.

☆ The Fed is about to deliver a momentous policy decision. It'll be a choice between keeping the focus on inflation or stemming the banking chaos.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Powell and the Fed may acknowledge that monetary policy has caused some pain, and even add that more may be coming. What's your prediction for today's Fed decision and what Powell might say about the recent banking tumult? A market analyst says investors need to have some key questions answered by the Fed today. Market watchers should pay attention over whether the central bank sees the SVB collapse and resulting crisis as deflationary. The governor of Florida has proposed legislation to ban a central bank digital currency and has called on like-minded states to do the same.

☆ Long-awaited Fed digital payment system to launch in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Reserve's digital payments system, which it promises will help speed up the way money moves around the world, will debut in July. FedNow, as it will be known, will create "a leading-edge payments system that is resilient, adaptive, and accessible," said Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, who is the program's executive sponsor. Participants will complete a training and certification process in early April, according to a Fed announcement. Institutions that participate in the program will have seven-day, 24-hour access, as opposed to a system currently in place that closes on weekends. Some Fed officials say the program even could supplant the need for a central bank digital currency.

☆ Brazil announces pilot for digital currency seeking to leverage financial services
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, March 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank announced the start of a digital currency pilot project on Monday, aiming to replicate the success of its instant payment system Pix to popularize financial services in the country. Araujo said the "digital real" will be built as a means of payment executed on distributed ledger technology (DLT), to support the provision of retail financial services settled through tokenized deposits in institutions of the financial and payment systems in Brazil. There is a great potential for new service providers, fintechs, democratizing access to the market and offering new services." Araujo stressed that the concept of the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC) was not intended to leverage digital payments, as this is already being done on a large scale with Pix, which was launched at the end of 2021 and has been widely adopted in Brazil. "Banks are very interested in this new tokenized world, in every conversation we have they have shown a lot of interest," said Araujo.

☆ Tesla bulls and bears are duking it out and one strategist now thinks Elon Musk's car company is "boring"
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The presentation did, however, lay out broad plans aimed at making Tesla the largest car company in the world. The announcements were tepid enough that strategists at Vanda Research wrote in a note to clients that this month could see a sell-off for Tesla stock. That said, Zacks Investment Research forecasts 30% upside for Tesla, and that climb could happen in 2023. While Tesla has long been touted as innovative and futuristic over the last decade, Bespoke Investment Group concluded that the company is now actually a normal, boring car maker. The stock market is getting the jitters with a key bearish signal flashing red again.

☆ The Treasury just gave the strongest indication yet that the US will get a digital dollar, but an expert says proliferation of CBDCs poses risks to the dollar.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US Treasury just made its strongest indication that a central bank digital currency is on the table. A US digital dollar, Liang said, would be legal tender and users could convert it one-for-one with other forms of central bank assets, like paper money or reserves. Redbord also believes the US must carefully evaluate the space, given that China is embarking on a similar digital currency program that's aimed at competing with the dollar. In her Wednesday speech, Liang differentiated between wholesale and retail digital dollars. The upside for a retail CBDC, meanwhile, comes from access, rather than technology, but could also destabilize private sector lending during times of duress, she added.

☆ Bank of Japan to launch pilot program for issuing digital yen in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Friday it has decided to launch a pilot program in April for issuing a digital yen, moving a step closer to launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a country that lags in digitizing its payment systems. The move, which was widely expected, will follow two years of experiments the central bank has been conducting to decide whether to issue a CBDC. "Our hope is that the pilot program will lead to improved designs through discussion with private businesses," BOJ Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said in opening remarks at the central bank's meeting with private-sector executives. While it was up to the public to decide whether to actually issue a digital yen, the BOJ will "continue to make thorough preparations" when circumstances lead to the launch of a CBDC, the central bank said in a statement.

The decision, announced after financial markets closed, gives Biden a pair of trusted Washington insiders to steer economic policy as the risk of recession fades but inflation lingers. Big fights also loom with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over raising the debt ceiling. The shakeup comes as the White House tries to tackle what officials view as a frustrating disconnect between relatively strong economic data and weak public sentiment. The White House has refused to discuss spending cuts without a debt ceiling vote first. Bernstein last week conceded that the White House's early description of inflation as "transitory" had missed the mark.

☆ Brainard's move to the White House leaves a big gap for Biden to fill at the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In her more than eight years as a Federal Reserve official, Lael Brainard was an influential voice, particularly for the side that favored keeping monetary policy loose and interest rates low. "Brainard's departure from the Fed leaves a dove-sized hole in its monetary policy," Beacon Policy Advisors wrote in its daily newsletter Wednesday. Indeed, Brainard's influence only accelerated the longer she served as a Fed governor. Her subsequent appointment in 2022 as vice chair solidified her influence, installing her as part of the "troika" of policy-directing power that includes current Chairman Jerome Powell and New York Fed President John Williams. Some candidates outside the Fed ranks, according to Guha, include Karen Dynan, Jason Furman, Janice Eberly and Christina Romer, all of whom served under former President Barack Obama (and his vice president, Biden).

Feb 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as his top economic policy adviser as early as Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said, as the 2024 elections approach. Brainard, an experienced fiscal and monetary affairs official, would replace White House National Economic Council (NEC) Director Brian Deese, who has announced his resignation. In addition, Biden confidant Jared Bernstein is expected to replace Cecilia Rouse as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the source said. The White House declined to comment. Biden's overhaul of his top economic team comes as the Fed is still trying to glide inflation down without causing a recession.

☆ Britain presses on with proposals for a digital pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pound coins are seen in the photo illustration taken in Manchester, Britain September 6, 2017. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said the implications of a digital pound - including privacy issues - had to be considered. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked the BoE to look into the case for a CBDC when he was finance minister in 2021. Unlike cryptoassets, the digital pound would be issued by the central bank and not the private sector and its value would be fixed. Instead they would have accounts with private digital wallet providers, which would provide digital pounds over public infrastructure.

☆ Bank of England and Treasury think UK is 'likely' to need digital currency, the Telegraph reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England (BoE) and Britain's finance ministry think the UK is likely to need to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) later this decade, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday, citing an unreleased government report. The BoE declined to comment on the Telegraph article, but said a joint consultation on CBDC issues would be published shortly. BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is due to give a speech on Tuesday to update the finance industry on the BoE's CBDC work. The European Central Bank is working on a digital version of its currency and is in the process of outlining the broader design. Last month it said it would not offer personal bank accounts but would allow person-to-person payments.

☆ Fed's Lael Brainard among leading contenders for top White House economic post
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lael Brainard, vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, listens to a question during an interview in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard is a top candidate to take the most important economic position in the White House. Biden named Brainard vice chair at the Fed in 2022; she also was considered as a possible successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Biden reappointed last year. Brainard is one of multiple candidates being considered and interviews for the position are continuing, according to a White House spokesman familiar with the matter. For her part, Brainard could garner support from progressives who are in favor of strong bank regulation and easier monetary policy.

☆ Expansionist dreams threaten ECB digital euro plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The idea of a digital euro with the same reserve backing as its physical equivalent is thus partly about Frankfurt controlling the process. At best, a digital euro could bring more citizens into the banking system, particularly those who don’t have enough money for traditional financial services products. That jars with central bankers’ preference to limit the digital euro to the EU at first. The euro does not need a digital currency, but its members have signalled they want one. Reuters GraphicsFollow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuro area finance ministers issued a statement on the so-called digital euro on Jan. 16, calling for political oversight and an international approach of a European central bank digital currency (CBDC).

☆ House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The unregulated nature of the crypto industry emerged as a pressing concern late last year after the collapse in November of crypto exchange FTX. Hill has been an enthusiastic supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer described actions taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as "haphazard and unfocused." Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun to prepare their own efforts to oversee the crypto industry and dictate enforcement actions. The commission charged crypto lender Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with the unregistered sale and offering of securities on Thursday, the same day that Hill announced the subcommittee.

☆ Swiss National Bank says it doesn't need a central bank digital currency
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSwiss National Bank says it doesn't need a central bank digital currencyThomas Moser, alternate member of the governing board of the Swiss National Bank, said he doesn't yet see a need yet to issue a central bank digital currency. Central banks around the world are exploring the use of CBDCs, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal reports.

☆ Cryptocurrencies could cause the next financial crisis, Indian central bank head warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), called for private cryptocurrencies to be "prohibited." The next financial crisis will be caused by private cryptocurrencies, if these assets are allowed to grow, the head of India's central bank warned on Wednesday. Das' comments come as the central bank pushes to introduce its own digital version of the Indian rupee. The digital rupee is a type of central bank digital currency (CBDC). China's central bank is furthest ahead globally on the development of a CBDC.

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