European central banks ramp up their efforts to utilize distributed ledger technology (DLT), the foundation of blockchain, in central bank money settlements. Banca d’Italia and Deutsche Bundesbank, central banks of Italy and Germany, respectively, joined forces to work on settlements in central bank money of DLT-based asset exchanges. The official announcement stressed that the primary goal of the joint workshop was not to use DLT as a replacement for conventional systems. Instead, the initiative aims to complement the current central bank money settlement practices with a programmable trigger mechanism that connects the DLT-based asset, like a tokenized security, and cash …

Germany’s federal bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, has run successful tests on a project which bridges the traditional finance infrastructure with blockchain technology. Despite the current global rush by central banks to familiarise themselves with central bank digital currency technology, the testing carried out by the Bundesbank, in conjunction with the Deutsche Börse Group and the German Finance Agency, required the issuance of no CB, or any tokenized money at all. The system reportedly relies on two software modules which form a connection between the Bundesbank’s internal system and distributed ledger technology. Instead of creating a token-based system, the bank simply …

Burkhard Balz, a German politician and executive board member of the country's central bank, said in a speech on Oct. 20 that it was crucial to build tools to restrict how the digital euro is used upon launch. Balz emphasized that people should only be able to use the central bank-backed digital euro as a mode of payment and not as a store of value. If the central bank digital currency has the same characteristics as traditional money, depositors could withdraw their funds in times of a crisis by converting it into digital euros, making the funds a liability for …

Retail central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, do not require the use of blockchain technology, according to executives at major European central banks. Thomas Moser, an alternate member of the governing board at Swiss National Bank, and Deutsche Bundesbank’s Martin Diehl discussed the state of CBDCs at the European Blockchain Convention Virtual 2020 conference on Monday. During the online panel discussion, both Diehl and Moser seemed to agree that global retail CBDC projects do not need blockchain, citing a number of reasons. Moser said that the primary use cases for blockchain intend to provide trust when a project has no …

The Cabinet of Germany and Germany’s central bank Deutsche Bundesbank are working together closely on issues related to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Awareness of global CBDC situation On Aug. 29, Germany’s federal parliament (Bundestag) published official feedback to a request from parliamentary group the Free Democratic Party, which asked the Cabinet to respond to six questions related to CBDCs in July 2019. In the document, dated Aug. 16, the Cabinet answered all questions by the group, citing major reports and surveys in the space, including a January report by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Specifically, when asked about …

Potential benefits of Facebook’s Libra should be made possible despite the existing regulatory uncertainty and associated risks, Germany's central bank said. In a monthly bulletin called “Crypto tokens in payment transactions and in securities settlement” released on July 22, the Bundesbank evaluated potential advantages and shortcomings of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as well as stablecoins such as Facebook’s widely-discussed crypto project Libra. Regulation of Libra should be as technology-neutral as possible, Bundesbank says In the document, Germany's central bank stated that global innovative projects such as Libra should not be made impossible as they aim to increase prosperity and …

The head of Germany's central bank Jens Weidmann spoke in favor of Facebook’s Libra during a recent G7 event. Bundesbank head warns against suppressing innovation Weidmann, Bundesbank President and the Governing Council member of the European Central Bank, argued that global regulators should not suppress the project in its infancy, according to an email newsletter in a shared by eToro senior market analyst Mati Greenspan on July 19. According to the letter, Weidmann reportedly supported the Libra project during a recent G7 meeting, arguing that digital currencies such as Libra can be attractive to consumers in case if they deliver …