The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has provided a comprehensive explanation of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project on its website. The project, set to commence before the end of 2024, will initially focus on a wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and will involve simulations rather than real Qatari Riyals. The QCB’s project...
The Bank of Spain is taking a step in exploring the potential of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) by partnering with Adhara, a treasury and transactions payment platform, and a consortium formed by two private banks, Cecabank and Abanca. This initiative marks a distinct phase in the bank’s exploration of digital currency technology,...
LG CNS to Develop System for Korean Tokenized Deposits The Bank of Korea (BOK) has awarded a contract to LG CNS to develop a system for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for upcoming trials. This development follows the October announcement of two wholesale CBDC trials, one involving banks issuing tokenized deposits and the...
The Bank of England (BoE) is preparing for groundbreaking innovations in finance, spearheaded by the rise of stablecoin, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and tokenized bank deposits. BoE Deputy Governor Sir John Cunliffe shared the central bank’s position at the Innovative Finance Global Summit on Monday during his keynote address. Cunliffe said the central bank...
The Bank of Israel says it’s preparing an action plan for the potential issuance of a central bank digital currency, though a formal decision has yet to be made. On April 17, the Bank of Israel Steering Committee on the Potential Issuance of a Digital Shekel outlined possible scenarios for the development and deployment of...
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has launched a strategy to introduce the digital dirham, a new form of national currency (Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC). The project is part of the state Financial Infrastructure Transformation Program (FIT program), aimed at accelerating the digitalization of the financial services sector. To implement the...
Nearly 18 months after launching its in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira, Nigeria is seeing increased adoption in the CBDC as national fiat reserves face severe shortages. The acute cash shortage in Nigeria was due to the central bank’s decision to replace older bank notes with bigger denominations amid rising inflation. While developing...
Republican Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to block the United States Federal Reserve from launching a “direct-to-consumer” central bank digital currency. In a March 21 statement, Cruz said he introduced the bill to prevent the Fed from developing a retail CBDC, “which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal...
Japanese banks will test issuance and operations with stablecoins. This was announced by G.U. Technologies is the developer of the Japan Open Chain blockchain, on the basis of which the experiment will be conducted. Japan Open Chain is an Ethereum compatible network that G.U. Technologies was developed jointly with advertising holding Dentsu, digital bank Minna...
