Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao appears to have softened his stance on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), arguing in a conference that he doesn’t think CBDCs are a threat to his company or the crypto sector. CZ spoke at the Web Summit in Lisbon on Nov. 2 about CBDCs and their role in the crypto industry. The Binance boss said that CBDCs would validate blockchain technology and build trust among those with concerns about the technology, commenting: “I very much think that the more we have, the better.” He also added that governments adopting blockchain would be seen as a …

Chinese central bank governor Yi Gang, in a recent speech at Hong Kong Fintech Week, talked about the progress of their national digital currency called the digital yuan. He outlined the progress and the adoption of the national digital currency. During his speech, Yi noted that the digital yuan is being positioned as an alternative to cash in China, a country with a robust digital payment infrastructure. He added that “privacy protection is one of the top of the issue on our agenda.” He went on to describe the two-layer payment system that would offer controllable anonymity to the users. …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has wrapped up the first stage of its Project Orchid examination of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the white paper released on Oct. 31, there is no “urgent case” for a retail CBDC in Singapore, but the study envisioned the infrastructure required in case a need arose. It also conceptualized a new model for digital currency — purpose-bound money — and pulled large Singaporean banks and government agencies into the research with a series of trials. Singaporean consumers do not need a retail digital dollar at present because of the …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is on track to debut the central bank digital currency (CBDC) after announcing the digital rupee project in February this year. The central bank of India will launch the digital rupee pilot for the wholesale segment on Nov. 1, the RBI reportedly announced on Monday. The pilot will involve nine locally operating banks, including the biggest Indian bank, the State Bank of India. According to a report by Reuters, other banks in the pilot will also include Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC …

In an announcement on Twitter, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, said the network will be a major component to Kazakhstan's latest Web3 endeavor. The Binance founder tweeted that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, on the BNB Chain, the underlying blockchain of the Binance network. National Bank of Kazakhstan (NKB) will integrate their CBDC on @BNBchain. #BNB https://t.co/33WMKwAczm — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 27, 2022 The NBK launched a CBDC pilot which included the participation of local merchants and consumers. Zhao said he looks forward to …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released the full details of its mBridge pilot project to use central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for foreign exchange. Commercial banks in four jurisdictions made cross-border transfers using CBDCs and distributed ledger (blockchain) technology in the project, which was heralded as a success. Twenty commercial banks in Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand used the custom-made mBridge Ledger platform and CBDCs issued by their respective central banks to conduct payment and foreign exchange payment-versus-payment transactions on behalf of their corporate clients between August 15 and September 23. Over $12 million …

Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not getting the warm reception expected from its crypto-savvy population. According to a Bloomberg report, less than 0.5% of Nigeria’s 217 million population are using the government-issued digital currency — the eNaira — a year after its launch. This comes despite Nigeria being identified by Chainalysis as the top country in Africa for crypto adoption and ranking 11th globally, while a KuCoin report found that 35% of the Nigerian population aged 18 to 60 had owned or traded cryptocurrencies this year. Bloomberg noted that Nigerians have been confused due to a lack of …

Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), a Japanese analog to international payments systems like Visa or Mastercard, announced the start of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure testing. The project will assumably prepare the payments platform for a national CBDC, which is currently being tested by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). The infrastructure project, announced by the company in local media, will come under the title JCBDC and aims at adjusting the JCB’s existing credit card infrastructure for CBDC payments. The France-based provider of facial recognition technology IDEMIA and Malaysian Softspace will collaborate with JCB in the platform’s development. The platform …

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority presented its completed Aurum retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) prototype on Oct. 21. The system, developed in conjunction with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, has a unique structure that reflects the intricacies of the existing system for issuing money in Hong Kong. Aurum consists of a wholesale interbank system and retail e-wallet. The e-wallet is created at a local bank and has a smartphone interface. A validator system prevents bank over-issuance and user double redemption. The intermediated retail CBDC is used in the e-wallets, and CBDC-backed stablecoins are used in the …

A United States central bank digital currency (CBDC) would not enhance the qualities of the U.S. fiat dollar that foreign companies value most, U.S. Federal Reserve Board governor Christopher Waller in a speech released Oct. 14. CBDC skeptic Waller took a look at the question through the lens of national security at a symposium held at Harvard University. Waller had a more favorable view of dollar-backed stablecoin. The role of the U.S. dollar worldwide is an area where economics, CBDCs, and national security dovetail, Waller said. The indisputable primacy of the U.S. dollar in the world brings benefits to the …

Researchers from a Chinese state-run think tank have floated the idea of an Asia-wide digital currency with the aim to reduce its reliance on a United States dollar-based economy. The views of researchers Liu Dongmin, Song Shuang, and Zhou Xuezhi from a unit of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) were published in an issue of the “World Affairs journal” posted online in late September, who said the establishment of an “Asian yuan” token would lower Asia’s reliance on the U.S. dollar. Much like similar existing and trialed Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), the researchers said distributed ledger technology …

China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has reached the mark of 100.04 billion yuan (close to $14 billion) of made transactions during its pilot phase. It makes digital yuan, the e-CNY, the most widely adopted CBDC in the world. As the Bank of China reported in the post on its official WeChat page on Oct. 10, by the end of the summer, the number of transactions made in 15 provinces within the CBDC pilot framework had reached 360 million. More than 5.6 million merchant stores already support the digital yuan as a legal tender, according to the post. The …