U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has given her opinions on the potential of a digital dollar but is hesitant to come to any conclusions at this stage in proceedings. Yellen said on Thursday that she had not formed a view on whether the Federal Reserve should create a digital version of the dollar, but such a move would require broad consensus among Congress, the U.S. central bank and the White House. This follows the recent reports that the Federal Reserve is currently researching whether an electronic version of the greenback would be beneficial or not. Yellen said that she sees …

According to reports from local media, the Indian government will not move for an outright ban on crypto and will instead regulate the sector. On Nov. 23, Cointelegraph reported that the Indian government was considering a bill proposing the creation of an official digital currency while imposing a ban on all “private” cryptocurrencies. The news sparked panic selling on local crypto exchange WazirX the following day, and the vague wording on the bill and lack of clarification from the government have since left many onlookers divided on the prospects for crypto in India. But Indian news outlet NDTV reported on …

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC), digital versions of national currencies introduced in response to growing cryptocurrency adoption, would be an essential tool for combating crypto, according to the Bank of Indonesia. The central bank of Indonesia is considering launching a digital rupiah to “fight” against cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Bank of Indonesia’s assistant governor Juda Agung said at a recent parliamentary meeting. “A CBDC would be one of the tools to fight crypto. We assume that people would find CBDC more credible than crypto. CBDC would be part of an effort to address the use of crypto in financial transactions,” …

The Bank of Tanzania is reportedly planning to introduce a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for the African nation after neighboring countries announced similar initiatives. According to a Friday Bloomberg report, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga said on Nov. 25 that Tanzania was planning to follow Nigeria’s example in rolling out its own CBDC. Luoga reportedly said that the central bank had “already begun preparations” for a digital shilling, Tanzania’s currency since 1966. In preparing to launch a CBDC, the governor said Tanzania is also planning to expand research into digital currencies and strengthen the capacity of central …

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has expressed concerns over El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender after President Nayib Bukele announced the launch of Bitcoin City. Bailey argued that El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as a currency was alarming because consumers are likely to suffer from the cryptocurrency’s extreme volatility. Trading around $43,000 on the first day of El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption as legal tender, Bitcoin surged to a new historical high above $68,000 on Nov. 9. BTC price has significantly tumbled since then, with Bitcoin trading at $54,626 at the time of writing. “It concerns …

A consortium of roughly 70 Japanese companies, including the country’s biggest financial institutions, have joined forces to trial and launch a new yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022, sending a strong signal that the private sector was embracing blockchain-based payment systems. The new digital currency, dubbed “DCJPY,” will be backstopped by bank deposits and rely on a common platform to expedite large fund transfers and settlements among the participating companies, according to Kazuhiro Tokia, the chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret. DeCurret is leading the consortium, which includes banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial …

Ripple, the digital payment network, has partnered with the Republic of Palau to help the Pacific island nation develop its own digital currency. The initial focus of the partnership will see the development of a USD-backed digital currency to help facilitate cross-border payments for the nation. The collaboration “could see the implementation of the world’s first government-backed national stablecoin in the first half of 2022” according to Ripple's announcement. Ripple suggested the national digital currency may not necessarily be just another CBDC. “Ripple would provide Palau with technical, business, design and policy support. Meanwhile, exploring a USD-backed stablecoin and associated …

Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the lawmakers who supported amending the language around crypto in the recently passed infrastructure law, said the United States should lead the world in the adoption of a central bank digital currency. In a Nov. 23 interview with Bloomberg's David Westin, Toomey said the U.S. dollar should have “the most sophisticated capabilities of any currency in the world” as the country could benefit from a digital dollar. However, the senator said the rollout of any U.S. central bank digital currency should not rely on the Federal Reserve as a traditional bank for retail accounts, …

In an event streamed live on Wednesday, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and deputy governor for financial stability Sir Jon Cunliffe answer questions from lawmakers from the Economic Affairs Committee. When asked about the growth of innovation surrounding digital currencies in the country, Sir Cunliffe gave the following comment: It's quite difficult to predict how innovators will take money and actually use money going forward. But we are starting to see programmable money being used in the crypto world. And I would expect we would see a similar revolution in the functionality of money driven by technology. Sir Jon …

The World Economic Forum, or WEF, has published a resource suite aimed at informing lawmakers and individuals in the private sector about digital assets including central bank digital currencies and stablecoins. On Nov. 19, the WEF announced its Digital Currency Governance Consortium White Paper Series, a resource suite created by 85 organizations from 40 countries around the world. The publication contains 8 separate white papers exploring topics including the impact of lawmakers regulating stablecoins and central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, as well as informing them about the risks, benefits, and alternatives. In addition, the suite addresses regulatory gaps for …

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) like Russia’s digital ruble do not pose any threat to United States sanctions, according to U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Adeyemo argued that the U.S. dollar “will remain the dominant currency in the world” despite the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies. Adeyemo pointed out that digital assets provide an “opportunity in lots of ways” for the U.S. economy, but it’s also associated with many challenges like money laundering. However, there are ways to combat this in order to benefit from the growing industry, the official said: “We do think …

The Russian central bank continues disclosing more details about its upcoming digital currency, now reportedly planning to take commissions for the digital ruble transactions. The fees for Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions will be lower than those of wire transfers, Bank of Russia’s director of financial technologies department Kirill Pronin reportedly said. Pronin elaborated that the CBDC transactions’ commissions will not be higher than those implemented within Russia’s Faster Payments System (FPS), a service that lets individuals make instant interbank transfers, the local publication Prime reported Wednesday. The FPS system was launched in 2019, allowing users to transfer …