The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has made a major step forward with a research and development project that could see the Turkish lira go digital. On Wednesday, CBRT announced the signing of memoranda of understanding with three domestic research and technology companies that will form the “Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform.” The pool of participants is expected to expand as the project moves forward. The three original technology stakeholders are Aselsan, a major defense corporation, Havelsan, a software and systems developer operating in the defense and IT sectors, and TÜBİTAK Informatics and Information Security Research Center. …

According to the Wall Street Journal, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could actually negatively impact interest rates by giving policymakers an additional tool. In his article, "Digital Currencies Pave Way for Deeply Negative Interest Rates," senior columnist James Mackintosh argues that the difference between a CBDC and cash would be highlighted if interest rates fell below zero. People would be more inclined to hold on to physical cash to “earn zero” rather than lose money on a digital dollar issued by the central bank. This means the central bank will have more leverage with interest rates if it issues digital …

Real-world adoption is what really matters when it comes to being a successful blockchain project and one project that benefited from a recent uptick in adoption is Algorand (ALGO), a pure proof-of-stake protocol aiming to become the go-to base layer for the global financial industry. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since bottoming out at $0.67 on July 20, the price of ALGO has rocketed 268% to a daily high at $2.47 on Sept. 9 as its 24-hour trading volume surged to a record-high $4.83 billion. El Salvador builds on Algorand The sudden surge in price and …

Two Central American countries, Honduras and Guatemala, are taking a cue from their common neighbor’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), but they are taking a very different road. Instead of embracing an existing cryptocurrency as a legal tender, like what El Salvador did, the central banks of Honduras and Guatemala are currently studying central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Following the approval of the board of directors, the Central Bank of Honduras kicked off a study “to determine the feasibility of conducting a pilot test issuing its own digital money or a central bank digital currency,” according to Honduras central bank president …

Global payment network Roxe has recruited a seasoned economist from the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, to help lead its central bank digital currency project backed by Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate. Andreas Jobst, whose career spans the IMF, World Bank and Bermuda Monetary Authority, has been appointed as Roxe’s chief currency economist, the company announced Wednesday. Jobst will be tasked with helping to scale Roxe’s CBDC Plus Program and payment network, which allows countries to issue new primary or secondary fiat currencies backed by the computational power of Bitcoin. Jobst’s most recent appointment at the IMF was an unspecified role in …

After four years of development, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to roll out its digital currency project. The launch will reportedly happen on the occasion of the country’s 61st Independence Day celebration on Oct. 1. Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project comes amid significant anti-crypto policies from the CBN and negative cryptocurrency sentiments from several government officials. The digital naira is also coming at a time when its fiat counterpart has plunged to new lows, with the central bank enacting even tighter forex restrictions. Details of the eNaira project circulated across commercial banks in the country …

The central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa have announced a joint initiative to trial international settlements using central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The initiative, dubbed Project Dunbar, will prototype shared platforms enabling direct transfers between institutions using digital currencies issued by multiple central banks. The pilot’s findings will be used to inform the “development of global and regional platforms” in addition to supporting the G20’s roadmap for improving cross-border payments. Project Dunbar will be carried out in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub from its Singapore Center. The project will engage multiple partners …

Barbados-based fintech firm Bitt Inc will be working as the technical partner for the Central Bank of Nigeria for its proposed e-naira digital currency. In a Monday announcement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had chosen Bitt Inc based on the company’s “technological competence, efficiency, platform security, interoperability and implementation experience.” It also considered the fintech firm’s experience in the development of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s digital currency, DCash, which it launched in April. The partnership announcement comes the same day the CBN issued preliminary guidelines for its central bank digital currency, or CBDC, called the e-naira. …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has shortlisted 15 “Global CBDC Challenge” participants to help build an in-house retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). An announcement shared by the MAS shows that the finalists include six companies from Singapore, four from the United States, and one each from Australia, Barbados, Germany, France and Switzerland, of which only three winners will be selected to deploy a retail CBDC in Singapore. Soon after the Singaporean central bank announced cash prizes for digital currency ideas back on June 28, the challenge reportedly saw the participation of over 300 fintech companies spread across more …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued preliminary guidelines for its proposed e-naira digital currency. In a sensitization document sent to commercial banks in the country, the CBN outlined several design features of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the document seen by Cointelegraph, Nigeria’s CBDC is codenamed “Project Giant” and will be pegged to the value of the naira. Thus, the e-naira will offer parity of value but will not be an interest-bearing currency. The e-naira will run alongside the country’s fiat currency, with the CBN responsible for issuing, distributing and redeeming the digital currency among …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could commence preliminary central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials before the end of the year. Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank was “being extremely careful” in its handling of a potential digital rupee, even as its counterparts around the world have been exploring their own sovereign digital currencies. According to Das, the RBI’s focus is on examining the potential impact of a digital rupee on India’s financial sector, with issues such a monetary policy control high on the agenda. On the technical side, the RBI governor …

The results of a recent survey undertaken by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Politico suggest that a plurality of the British adult population hold visceral concerns surrounding a Bank of England (BOE)-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC). The 2,500 British adults surveyed in the study in early August expressed doubts and concerns on the inherent societal benefits of the issuance of a CBDC by the Bank of England. According to the data, 30% of participants believe that a “Britcoin” CBDC is “more likely to be harmful than beneficial to the UK,” with 24% believing that it could be …