Bank of England, BIS complete distributed ledger settlements pilot

The Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have completed a joint pilot testing a distributed ledger technology-based settlements system between institutions.

The UK central bank plans to take lessons from the project and apply them to its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system.

BIS has also published a 44-page report on the project. Titled Project Meridian, it was carried out with the Bank of England at the BIS innovation hub in...

20 April 2023 | Legislation & Government

SWIFT progresses CBDC project after strong pilot results

Bank

Global banking system SWIFT is moving to the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) testing after positive results in the pilot stages.

The interbank network said its project to connect different nations’ CBDCs with one another offers “clear potential and value” in a statement on 9 March.

Lewis Sun, global head of domestic and emerging payments at HSBC, said: “While interest in CBDCs is growing, so is the risk of fragmentation as a widening range...

10 March 2023 | Banking

Turkish central bank completes first CBDC trials for digital lira

Turkey

Turkey’s central bank has completed the first of its trials for the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Turkish Lira.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced on 29 December that it had successfully completed the “first payment transactions” to use the digital lira.

Limited, closed-circuit pilot tests with key stakeholders will continue into the first quarter of 2023, after which the pilot is expected to integrate...

30 December 2022 | CBDC

Singapore launches DeFi project with JPMorgan and DBS Bank

Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is joining forces with JPMorgan, DBS Bank, and Marketnode to launch Project Guardian.

The project, which is led by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, will pilot use cases of digital assets in tokenisation, using the three financial institutions as “trust anchors”.

Announced on 31 May at the Asia Tech X Singapore Summit, Project Guardian hopes to eventually explore decentralised finance (DeFi)...

1 June 2022 | Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

India announces digital rupee rollout and 30% crypto tax

Taj Mahal, India

India is carving out its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans with a digital rupee launch set for the coming financial year, as well as a 30% crypto tax.

In Tuesday’s speech on the upcoming year’s budget, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed the launch of a CBDC by 2023 to boost economic growth.

“Introduction of a central bank digital currency will give a big boost to the digital economy. Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and...

2 February 2022 | CBDC

Bank of Russia report calls for total crypto ban

Russian Money (Ruble)

The Bank of Russia has called for a ban on all cryptocurrency-related activity, including trading, mining and usage.

The stance comes off the back of a report, “Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures”, presented on January 20, 2022, at an online press conference.

Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Department, drew attention to the report’s claim that cryptocurrencies are volatile and widely used for illegal...

20 January 2022 | Cryptocurrency

Nigeria to launch CBDC pilot in October

Nigerian Flag

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to begin its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot on October 1, according to Nigerian financial news publication Nairametrics.

According to Nairametrics private sources, Rakiya Mohammed, the bank’s director of information technology, called a webinar last Thursday to confirm the pilot’s start date and emphasise that the CBN could not afford to be left behind in global CBDC development.

The pilot scheme, known as...

27 July 2021 | Banking