Hong Kong’s HKMA Launches Project Ensemble: A Significant Move Towards Tokenized Banking
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has unveiled Project Ensemble, a new wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative aimed at enhancing interbank settlements through the tokenization of commercial bank money, or tokenized deposits. This project is set to trial in a dedicated wCBDC Sandbox, focusing on the settlement of various tokenization scenarios, including the […]
EU Backs Plans for an EU-Wide Digital Wallet for Secure Online Authentication
The European Union has backed plans for a new EU-wide wallet, which would enable EU citizens to securely identify and authenticate themselves online without relying on third-party commercial services, addressing concerns related to trust, security, and privacy. The Digital Identity Wallet would be designed for voluntary use. Throughout the negotiation process, Members of the European […]
Hong Kong Advances Digital Yuan and CBDC Initiatives
Hong Kong is actively expanding the reach of the digital yuan while simultaneously advancing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiatives and finalising discussions on stablecoin regulations. The introduction of China’s digital yuan marked a significant milestone in the development of CBDCs globally, drawing considerable attention due to its success and prominence. Recently, it […]
Preserving the singleness of money in a rapidly changing financial landscape
Date: Wednesday 28 February 2024Location: London, UK On 28th February 2024, the Digital Pound Foundation held a roundtable entitled “Preserving the Singleness and Uniformity of a digital Pound”, in which we explored the challenges around preserving the singleness of money in the digital age. In the future, multiple different forms of money – both public and private, […]
South Africa Plans to Embrace Digital Payments and Blockchain for Greater Financial Inclusion
South Africa’s latest annual budget unveils a strategic plan by the treasury to enhance digital payment adoption. This initiative includes a thorough evaluation of stablecoins and blockchain technology, aiming to enrich the lives of marginalized communities. The 2024 budget review underscores the urgency of structural reforms and the improvement of public financial management, with a […]
Swiss City of Lugano Launches Blockchain Bond with Wholesale CBDC Settlement
In Switzerland, the city of Lugano has announced the issuance of its second blockchain bond, following its initial blockchain bond launch a year prior. This recent issuance, valued at CHF 100 million, integrates with the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) Project Helvetia, marking a significant step by settling transactions in wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). […]
Updated Digital Euro Legislation Supports Permissionless Blockchains
This week, the EU’s parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs convened to discuss the digital Euro, unveiling an updated draft of the digital Euro legislation with significant revisions, including backing for permissionless blockchains. The draft now allows conditional payments in digital Euros on permissionless distributed ledgers, expanding beyond privately issued assets like crypto-assets or […]
Philippines set to launch a wholesale CBDC within the next two years
The Philippines is poised to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the next two years, following the lead of other regulators who have introduced such digital assets to counter the volatility of cryptocurrencies and offer an alternative means of payment and asset storage. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. has […]
The Role of a Digital Pound in Promoting Sustainability
Executive Summary The Digital Pound Foundation Use Case Working Group has been working together to identify, develop and refine a series of key use cases that can be used to illustrate the potential of a retail digital Pound for the UK citizen. With a focus on innovation and use cases that cannot easily be served […]
DPF Response to Bank of England Discussion Paper: Regulatory regime for systemic payment systems using stablecoins and related service providers
The Digital Pound Foundation (DPF) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Bank of England’s (the Bank’s) Discussion Paper on the Regulatory regime for systemic payment systems using stablecoins and related service providers (the “Discussion Paper”). The DPF’s stated remit is to advocate for and support the implementation of a well-designed digital Pound, in both […]
