The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in talks with fintech companies and state-controlled banks on a trial run of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), local publication Moneycontrol reported Sept. 5. An unnamed public sector bank official told the publication that the trial may precede an RBI launch of a CBDC this fiscal year. U.S.-based financial services company FIS was mentioned as one of the fintechs the RBI is consulting with. FIS senior director Julia Demidova confirmed to Moneycontrol that, “FIS has had various engagements with the RBI […] and, of course, our connected ecosystem could be extended to …

Governments across the globe see central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a means to improve the existing fiat ecosystem. Cryptocurrency’s technical prowess supported by the central bank’s underlying trust is key to enabling a rich monetary ecosystem, suggests an International Monetary Fund (IMF) publication. “Digital technologies promise a bright future for the monetary system,” reads the publication attributed to IMF deputy managing director Agustín Carstens and BIS executives Jon Frost and Hyun Song Shin. A BIS study from June revealed that cryptocurrencies outdo fiat ecosystems when it comes to achieving the high-level goals of a future monetary system. Some of …

A U.S. think tank has launched a “technical sandbox” aimed at advancing the exploration of a potential United States central bank digital currency (CBDC). In an Aug. 31 Tweet from Digital Dollar Project (DDP), the organization said the new program would explore “technical and business implementation” questions revolving around a U.S. CBDC. The organization noted that the initial participants of the sandbox include crypto-firm Ripple, financial technology company Digital Asset, software platform Knox Networks and banking solutions firm EMTECH. The ‘Technical Sandbox Program' aims to give the federal government, policymakers, and the private sector a clearer understanding of how a …

A joint committee of the United States's Uniform Law Commission (ULC) and the American Law Institute (ALI) finalized amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), regulating the specifics of digital asset transactions and crypto-as-collateral secured financings. The amendments are “recommended for enactment in all the States,” although each case of final implementation may vary depending on the State. A final draft of the ULC-ALI Emerging Technologies Committee’s amendments to the UCC was approved during a meeting on July 8–13. The key updates for the crypto industry appeared in Articles 3 and 9, the new Article 12 contains a set of …

In a novel address at the University of California Berkley published on Wednesday, Olli Rehn, governor of the Bank of Finland, touted the possibility of a digital euro centralized bank digital currency (CBDC) functioning in tandem with private fintech solutions to facilitate the cross-border payment of services across Europe. The European Central Bank's (ECB) investigation into the plausibility of the digital euro began in late 2021 and is scheduled to conclude in October 2023. Rehn outlined the utility of the experimental digital euro, stating: "A digital euro would give people an additional choice about how to pay and would make …

According to multiple sources, on Tuesday, China officially began rolling out the next round of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot test program. In the city of Guanzhou, it is now possible to pay for public bus rides with the digital yuan (e-CNY) CBDC on 10 transit routes, the first ever in the country. To do so, passengers simply need to download the e-CNY app, deposit funds, and scan the QR code located in the bus payment section to pay for their ride. Similarly, the day before, the city of Ningbo said that passengers could now pay for subway …

Government controlled “programmable money should terrify you”, says social media influencer and TV Host Layah Heilpern, who sees central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a way for banks and governments to reign control over their people. In an interview on Aug. 19 with British news outlet GB News, Heilpern, who also released Undressing Bitcoin: A Revealing Guide To The World's Most Revolutionary Asset in September 2021, said the widespread rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) from nation states is on its way, and that it could lead to the financial censorship of citizens in the future. Heilpern stated …

The eNaira, Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), will enter the second phase of its expansion with new technology to beef up its user base, Nigerian Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele said Thursday, speaking at the 2022 eNaira Hackathon in Abuja. The eNaira, Africa’s first CBDC, was launched in October 2021. “The eNaira is a journey, not a one-time event,” Emefiele said, adding: “We don’t have a choice but to live with the fact that we are now in a digital economy, in a digital space, where the user[s] of cash will dissipate almost to zero.” “The second phase of …

The European Central Bank (ECB) says the introduction of digital cash in the form of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) appears to be the "only solution" that will guarantee a "smooth continuation" of the current monetary system. The comments were made as part of an ECB Working Paper Series, which was published in August, discussing monetary policy and financial stability as it relates to CBDCs — gathering insights from 150 academic papers on the subject. The paper began with the observation that interest in “the economics of money and payments” has increased dramatically in the past 15 years and expanded …

Amid Colombia’s economic growth beat expectations in the second quarter, an official at the country’s tax and customs agency has hinted at some national digital currency plans. Luis Carlos Reyes, the head of the Colombian Tax and Customs National Authority, claimed that the government of newly inaugurated Colombian President Gustavo Petro will seek to create a digital currency to prevent illicit financial activity like tax evasion. Colombia’s digital currency plans are part of the country’s new monetary policy measures aiming to increase transparency of financial transactions, the official said in an interview with the local magazine Semana. According to the …

Amid the rising cryptocurrency adoption in the Philippines, the country’s central bank is seeking measures to better protect investors through elevating local crypto awareness. The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), wants to promote crypto education as the authority sees a lot of benefits associated with crypto and blockchain, a BSP representative said in an interview with Cointelegraph. “The BSP’s focus is on virtual assets’ capacity to improve the delivery of financial services, particularly payments and remittances services, as it has potential to provide faster and economical transfer of funds, both for domestic and international setting,” the BSP …

Which countries are banning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Banning a global technology and economic paradigm like BTC is not the best approach for governments to protect their citizens from the risks of this asset class. It is by hand holding them through the journey, educating and setting the right controls in place that safeguarding retail customers can be achieved. There have been several bans on BTC, other cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency mining across the world. China banned cryptocurrencies in 2021 in light of its central bank digital currency, and it also affected Bitcoin mining. As a result, the BTC hash rate …