We’re living in a time where digital assets are moving towards mainstream adoption. From retail customers to traditional banks and financial service providers, digital assets are on the rise. Many of these assets promised to disrupt financial markets and large incumbents, and while they have received widespread attention, they haven’t quite achieved their potential. That said, large institutions are taking notice — 86% of the world’s central banks are exploring digital currencies, according to a report by the Bank for International Settlements. They recognize that despite being in a golden age of innovation, payment systems remain somewhat archaic. And so, …

In a joint report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) have proposed to the G20 that a cross-border network of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), underpinned by efficient technological integration and proactive international cooperation, could be of significant benefit to the world economy. The report focuses on broadening the horizon beyond central banks’ individual studies of CBDCs for domestic needs, emphasizing that it is crucial to coordinate work at a global scale and to find common ground between various national efforts to reap the full benefits of digital currency. If tackled …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a global financial institution owned by some of the world’s biggest central banks, is trying to dispel the theory that cryptocurrency ownership is linked to distrust in traditional finance. On Thursday, the BIS published a paper on the socioeconomic drivers of cryptocurrency investments in the United States. Employing representative data from the U.S. Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, BIS argued distrust in fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar has nothing to do with investor motivation to hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), stating: “Demand for cryptocurrencies is not driven by distrust in cash or …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has reaffirmed its support for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In a report titled “CBDCs: an opportunity for the monetary system,” BIS researchers argued that sovereign digital currencies offered “the unique advantages of central bank money.” According to the report, CBDCs are the embodiment of digital money designed for the public good and are best suited for interfacing with instant retail payment systems. Indeed, several central banks around the world are experimenting with retail CBDCs with many of these projects examining ways to float a digital companion to their respective fiat currencies. Detailing a …

Benoît Cœuré, Bitcoin (BTC) critic and the head of the innovation hub at the Bank of International Settlements, called El Salvador’s historic move to make BTC legal tender in the country an “interesting experiment.” According to Reuters, Cœuré made this assertion during the launch of the BIS’s fourth innovation hub in England on Friday, stating: “We have been clear at the BIS that we don’t see bitcoin as having passed the test of being a means of payments. Bitcoin is a speculative asset and should be regulated at such.” As previously reported by Cointelegraph, El Salvador’s parliament passed a bill …

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), a global committee of banking supervisors and central banks, has proposed new requirements for banks that want to hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). In a consultation paper published Thursday, the committee provided preliminary proposals for the prudential treatment of crypto exposure by banks. The paper built on the contents of the committee’s 2019 discussion paper and responses received from various stakeholders and international industry figures. Crypto’s perceived volatility and potential for illicit use led the BCBS to assign a 1,250% risk weight to Bitcoin. This essentially means that banks must hold $1 …

Agustín Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, has called for even more crypto regulations stating that virtual currencies are a tool for circumventing financial laws. In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, the BIS general manager identified money laundering and terrorism financing as areas that require more robust cryptocurrency regulations. Carstens’s comments, a common refrain among crypto critics, come despite the preponderance of established facts indicating that crypto criminality occupies a minute proportion of global cryptocurrency commerce. According to Carstens, cryptocurrencies have a notoriety for being instruments of criminal activities due to the pseudonymous nature of virtual …

Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, are entering the “advanced stages” of engagement as nations around the world look to capitalize on blockchain technology, according to a new report by the Bank for International Settlements. In its latest survey of CBDC development, the BIS shows that central banks representing roughly a fifth of the world’s population are set to introduce a “general purpose CBDC in the next three years.” The 23-page document is based on primary consultations with more than 60 monetary authorities conducted in late 2020. The survey indicates that 86% of global central banks are actively exploring CBDCs. …

CBDC research has been announced as a top priority for the Bank for International Settlements’ Innovation Hub, or BISIH, in 2021. According to its annual work program, BISIH, plans to “explore the feasibility of faster and cheaper cross-border payments” using central bank digital currencies. BISIH also stated it will explore prototypes of “tiered retail CBDC distribution architectures” and distributed ledgers to issue “tokenized green bonds to retail investors.” The BIS initiatives will be driven by the Innovation Hub Centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland — which have been established in conjunction with local central banks. The BISIH center in …

It is hard to imagine that just two years ago, the general discourse around central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, was mainly focused on the potential and possibility of issuing them. Even in 2019, the question was about whether we need state-owned cryptocurrencies, with only 70% of central banks worldwide studying the potential of issuing a CBDC, according to a survey published by the Bank for International Settlements at the beginning of 2019. But this year, everything is indeed different. 2020 started with a major event within the financial world: the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the WEF released …

As numerous countries across the board navigate their feelings on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, Benoît Cœuré of the Bank for International Settlements thinks physical cash will retain its importance. Heading up the BIS’ innovation wing, Cœuré formerly held a position with the European Central Bank on its executive board. “In the euro area, unlike Sweden or China, demand for banknotes is still strong,” Cœuré said in an interview on Thursday. “Their role is declining as a means of payment, but they remain a means of savings.” He added: “No one wants to force consumers to choose their payment …

Canada doesn’t want any "surprises" regarding central bank digital currencies. In a recent interview with Reuters, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem doubled down on the country's contingency-plan approach to CBDCs, stressing that he sees no urgent need to issue one right now. For Macklem, inter-state competition and coordination remains the key question when it comes to CBDC issuance. He told reporters: “If another country has one and we don’t, that could certainly create some problems. So we want to make sure we’re ready. Currencies move across borders, and so we certainly wouldn’t want to be surprised by some other …