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‘Programmable money should terrify you’ — Layah Heilpern

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 that as CBDCs are essentially programmable cryptocurrencies that run on blockchains, they could potentially be “programmed against you” at the whims of the centralized au...

Fed vice chair inclined toward the coexistence of a CBDC and stablecoins in future

Leal Brainard floated a potential future of coexistence of stablecoins and CBDC She said that UST’s recent de-peg calls for a robust regulatory framework It has been just over four weeks since the Senate approved Biden’s nominated pick for Federal Reserve vice-chair Leal Brainard. Following her confirmation Leal Brainard, who sits alongside chair Jerome Powell in regulating monetary policy, last Thursday gave her opinion on CBDCs and stable coins. In an appearance before the House Committee on Financial Services, the economist explored the various risks and potential benefits of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stable coins. Coexistence is an option  Brainard defined that in the coming days, money will potentially coexist in a fragmented payment system in the US. She said th...

Weekly Report: Flamingo Casino Club shuts down, Talos becomes a unicorn, HIVE Blockchain consolidates its shares, and more

Flamingo Casino Club, which offered users fraudulent NFTs, has been asked by five US states to cease operations Crypto trading firm Talos became a unicorn at $1.25 billion after raising $105 million, it said Tuesday Bitcoin miner HIVE Blockchain to enact share consolidation, aiming to enhance institutional visibility IOSCO predicts the crypto sector could get a regulator within the next year Chile to ponder further before issuing a digital peso, central bank says Virtual casino parading metaverse-linked NFTs asked to cease operations in five states The states of New Jersey, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Alabama and Texas have alleged that the Flamingo Casino Club is running a scam by offering NFTs linked to a metaverse casino. In effect, regulators in the respective states issued emergency orders o...

CBDC payments infrastructure project involving four central banks concludes

The project has created prototypes to model international transactions settlement via multiple CBDCs There remain concerns over who should transact on the platform, how to create a trusted payment system across governments, and how to deploy the platform despite varying regulations Last September, the Bank of International Settlements’ (BIS) Innovation Hub led the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the South African Reserve Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Bank Negara Malaysia in an initiative to prototype-test the use of CBDCs in settling cross-border transactions. The aim was to establish whether these government-controlled tokens can be vehicles enabling inexpensive transactions across the said countries. Today, the four central banks have confirmed in a released report that...

Stablecoins will remain relevant even with the dawn of the CBDCs era, says Tether CTO

CBDCs will leverage private blockchains for tech infrastructure They, however, won’t be issued on private chains like stablecoins are at present Chief Technology Officer at Tether, Paolo Ardoino, has dismissed concerns that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will affect the currently offered private stablecoins. Ardoino was speaking in regards to the debate that has been happening in recent months, as more countries are declaring ambitions in CBDCs. CBDCs will power bank activities Explaining his view, Ardoino engaged his Twitter followers with the perspective that CBDCs are not built to digitise fiat currencies since most transactions in the modern day are already digital. Rather, he argued that these government-controlled digital currencies would essentially replace legacy pay...

Legislation for a Digital Euro is imminent, EU commissioner sets timeline for early next year

Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said the EU plans to table legislation on a CBDC early next year There is concern that the EU could get left behind if it does not work on a digital euro soon As first reported by Politico, the European Commission has resolved to coin legislation around a digital asset, leading to a bill set to be proposed in early 2023. The EU’s Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness said at a recent fintech event that the commission would establish “a targeted legislative consultation” over the next few weeks. The European Central Bank (ECB) has started conducting internal trials on the digital euro designs, with a prototype expected to come towards the end of 2023. However, the consent of Eu...

CoinDesk CEO reflects on the necessity of decentralised currencies

CoinDesk chief Emily Parker told CNBC yesterday that CBDCs present undue privacy concerns She also noted there is tremendous innovation around privacy in the crypto sector Speaking in an interview with CNBC yesterday, Emily Parker, the chief executive of cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk, faulted the possible negatives of a CBDC and rooted for a world where users have an option to hold decentralised currency. Parker inferred to Bitcoin’s fundamental philosophy – decentralisation away from control by centralised entities such as the government, such that no one can manipulate or shut down the network. User privacy concerns The CEO also told Power Lunch that the very definition of centralised currencies illustrates why a decentralised coin is so much needed. Centralised currencies ar...

Bank of America strategists report that the US will eventually adopt a CBDC

The Fed Chair has previously emphasised that it is not important to be the first to develop a sovereign digital currency           The US will deploy a central bank-backed digital currency by 2030, in the opinion of the Bank of America. The bank views the issuance of a central bank digital currency in the US as ‘inevitable’ even as financial authorities and lawmakers continue debating about its feasibility. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the investment and financial services banking firm believes the CBDC will be different from existing digital currencies. It will be primarily under the Federal Reserve and won’t be managed by other commercial banking institutions. Many countries worldwide are currently entertaining the idea of central bank...

Visa and ConsenSys to build bridging tech for CBDCs in latest collaboration

The payment services behemoth intends to enable user transactions via digital wallets or CBDC-enabled Visa cards International payment services company Visa has partnered with software tech firm ConsenSys to create on-ramp tech for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The partnership reported first by Bloomberg earlier today seeks to advance sovereign digital currency networks. Visa said it would build a CBDC sandbox that will be available in the coming spring. This isolated testing environment would help central banks test CBDC prototypes and pilot programs. The global financial company hopes that this initiative will help bridge the existing rift between financial systems and CBDCs “We’ve spoken with nearly 30 central banks to understand their perspectives on CBDCs and to...

The wait is coming to an end: Fed chair promises crypto report release in ‘coming weeks’

The release of the Federal Reserve report touching on digital currency development and crypto regulations has experienced several delays Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee yesterday during his nomination hearing that the much-awaited crypto report is now within weeks of publication despite recent delays. Directing his statement to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Powell explained that the report was not yet “quite where [it] needed to” be but insisted that it would get released soon nonetheless. “It’s more going to be an exercise in asking questions and seeking input from the public rather than taking a lot of positions on various issues, although we do take some positions. The report really is ready to go, and I would expect we will drop...

Bank of Mexico to issue a digital currency by 2024

The sovereign digital currency will not replace rather will coexist with the Mexican currency  On Wednesday evening, the government of Mexico shared on Twitter that the Bank of Mexico was looking to launch a digital currency within the next three years. The government considers digital currencies important in advancing the nation’s financial position, according to the shared post. “The Banxico reports that by 2024 it will have its own digital currency in circulation, considering these new technologies and the next-generation payment infrastructure are extremely important as options of great value to advance financial inclusion in the country,” the translated tweet read. The news comes not long after the Bank of Mexico Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath revealed that the ...

Cointelegraph Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr talks digital currencies with Mastercard at Global Impact Week

Global Impact Week, an industry event which features fintech, policy, climate, healthcare, and media innovations, kicked off in Valencia, Spain, and is ongoing from Dec. 14 to 18. Recent figures put attendance at 100,000, with 500 speakers and 150 live sessions. Cointelegraph’s Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr has been in virtual attendance at the event, moderating the panel titled Fireside Chat: Fintech Defining the Future with Mastercard’s executive VP of market development Liza Oakes. Here’s what they had to say: Kristina Cornèr: In November, Mastercard announced the launch of crypto-funded payments cards. How do you see this opportunity develop in the next few months or years? Liz Oakes: We started the service in fiat money. You can start by using Mastercard to purchas...