The United Kingdom’s central bank is ramping up its research into a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with the selection of a long list of banking and fintech experts to assist it. On Thursday, the Bank of England announced the membership of its CBDC Engagement and Technology Forums and they include some big names in technology and finance including Google, Mastercard, Consensys — and even Spotify. This week’s announcement is a signal that the central bank is taking its CBDC plans seriously. It stated that the Technology Forum draws resources from leading experts in the field of digital payments and …

The National Bank of Ukraine, the country’s chief monetary authority, has recently taken to professional social network LinkedIn to promote its blockchain developer job opening. The ad was published by the director of NBU’s IT department, Vladimir Nagornyuk. The ad goes on to list “development, implementation and modification of infrastructure services […] and distributed systems” among the prospective employee’s duties, in addition to mentioning smart contracts and Hyperledger competencies among the requirements for the job. The central bank’s interest in blockchain hires adds to other recent news coming out of Ukraine’s CBDC project, the e-hryvnia. Last week, speaking at a …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a report touting the benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), especially in reducing the cost of cross-border payments. According to the report titled “Inthanon-LionRock to mBridge: Building a multi CBDC platform for international payments” published on Tuesday, CBDCs can reduce the transaction throughput of cross-border payments from three to five business days to only a few seconds. The stated claim is part of the conclusions drawn from phase two of Project Inthanon-LionRock involving the central banks of China, the United Arab Emirates and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. “The prototype demonstrates …

Rob Kaplan, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas will step down from his position after more than six years. In a Monday announcement, the Dallas Fed said that Kaplan, its thirteenth president and CEO, would be retiring beginning Oct. 8. The 64-year-old cited recent attention to his “financial disclosure risks” in his decision to step down, likely referring to news outlet reports that he had traded stocks in companies including Apple, Alibaba, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Tesla in 2020 while casting his vote on United States monetary policy. The Dallas Fed president has …

Welcome to the world of central bank digital currency, or CBDC, where big countries like China and small countries like the Bahamas are trying to mark their presence. It’s a world where 86% of the world’s central banks are trying to create digital currencies. Almost 60% of them are working on the concept and 14% have already introduced a pilot program. Related: Did CBDCs affect the crypto space in 2020, and what’s next in 2021? Experts answer CBDC: A global perspective A CBDC is the digital version of a national currency that can be exchanged throughout the world. Unlike a …

As financial authorities around the globe become increasingly concerned about stablecoin regulation, a jurisdiction in China is preparing to pilot a new yuan-pegged stablecoin for international trade. Chris Banbury, head of global operations at permissionless blockchain project Conflux, told Cointelegraph on Sept. 21 that the firm will provide its technology to launch an offshore renminbi (RMB) stablecoin pegged to China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. “This is going to be pegged to the digital yuan in price only with no formal integration,” Banbury noted, adding that the project will be exploring how the token trades against other …

The United States Federal Reserve is still evaluating the prospects of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the country but says it has not yet decided on the matter. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Powell stated that the Federal Reserve was studying the merits of creating a digital dollar and has plans to issue a paper on the matter. “We are working proactively to issue a CBDC and if so, in what form,” Powell stated while fielding questions at the news conference, adding: “We think it is our obligation to do the work both on public …

The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan is partnering with Ripple to pilot a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the mountainous kingdom. In a Wednesday announcement, Ripple Labs said Bhutan’s central bank would be taking advantage of the company’s private ledger to issue and manage a digital ngultrum. According to Ripple, the move was motivated by the Royal Monetary Authority’s (RMA) effort to improve cross-border payments, expand financial inclusion for its residents, and “extend its commitment to sustainability as the only carbon-negative country in the world.” With a population of roughly 800,000, Bhutan’s gross domestic product amounted to $2.5 billion …

HSBC, the largest European bank with total assets of $3 trillion, maintains a skeptical stance on cryptocurrency while promoting the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn penned an article titled “New forms of digital money could spur growth,” in which he outlined the firm’s commitment to supporting the concept of a CBDC, as it provides transparent legal tender designed to avoid “many risks” associated with cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Released on Tuesday, the piece argues that global CBDC efforts like the Chinese digital yuan are the “new form of digital money,” while private money itself, …

The central bank of Ukraine has moved to support the development of the cryptocurrency industry after the Ukrainian parliament adopted a major crypto law in early September. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) issued an official statement on the basic principles of monetary policies for the upcoming year in which it paid particular attention to the regulation of cryptocurrencies on Sept. 13. The central bank emphasized that the NBU recognizes the importance of technological innovations associated with virtual assets and sees “many promising opportunities,” like improving access to financial services and increasing competition in the payments market. According to the …

Institutional interest for digital assets continues to grow rapidly, demonstrating that cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and nonfungible tokens (NFT) are here to stay. At the same time, traditional financial institutions are beginning to understand the dire need to properly support digital assets. For example, although payments giants such as Mastercard and Visa currently offer crypto-enabled credit and debit cards, these companies are also forming partnerships with crypto organizations to enable better security and trust for consumers transacting with digital currencies. Shedding light on the matter, Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard, told Cointelegraph that Mastercard’s customers and other partners …

Turkey is eager to become a blockchain hub as a country with one leg in Europe and another in Asia. However, the same passion doesn’t apply to cryptocurrencies, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated recently. Erdoğan hosted a question-and-answer event in Mersin, Turkey with youth from across the country. An attendant referred to the Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform announced last week and asked if the central bank would embrace cryptocurrencies. He also asked Erdoğan about his opinions on crypto. “We have absolutely no intention of embracing cryptocurrencies,” answered the president, adding: “On the contrary, we have a separate …