Insights from Ripple’s President: SEC Battles, Payment Innovations, and Stablecoins
In a recent episode of ‘The Scoop Podcast’ by The Block, Monica Long, President of Ripple, offered a detailed discussion about the strategic movements of Ripple, especially in relation to XRP and the company’s new venture into stablecoins. Monica Long elaborated on how the clarity obtained from last July’s U.S. court decision—which confirmed XRP is […]
Swiss National Bank and SDX Extend Project Helvetia CBDC Project for Two More Years
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) have announced that they will extend their exploration of wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for an additional two years. This extension is a part of the ongoing Project Helvetia, which is now entering its third phase. The project aims to further integrate CBDCs […]
Global Counsel partners with the Digital Pound Foundation
We are delighted to announce that Global Counsel has become a strategic partner of the Digital Pound Foundation (DPF). Global Counsel is a global strategic advisory firm providing integrated consultancy services to clients working with policy change. Global Counsel and the DPF will collaborate on areas of overlapping interest across their policy and advocacy activities, […]
Italian Banking Association Reports Success in Wholesale CBDC Trial Project Leonidas
The Italian Banking Association (ABI) has announced the successful trial of a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) known as Project Leonidas, conducted as part of the Bank of Italy’s sandbox. The trial, which took place last year, highlighted benefits such as atomic transactions, transparency, and information traceability. The testing phase occurred in 2023, prior […]
Insights from Ripple’s 2023 Trends in Regional Payments Report
Source: Ripple The global payments industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace. The race is on to stay ahead of dramatic shifts in consumer preferences, regulatory changes, and technological innovations. A consistent theme across these advances is the use of modern payment solutions, including blockchain-enabled payments, to realize faster, more inclusive, and transparent customer experiences. […]
Project mBridge Enters MVP Phase and Welcomes New Member: Central Bank of Saudi Arabia
The mBridge cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has advanced to the minimum viable product (MVP) stage, the initial production phase. This initiative, a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE, recently welcomed the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia […]
IMF Paper Addresses Cross-Border Payments Benefits and Challenges Using CBDCs
As central banks worldwide continue to contemplate the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), a recent paper from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), written by André Reslow, Gabriel Soderberg, and Natsuki Tsuda, explores the potential benefits and challenges of implementing retail CBDCs for cross-border payments. The paper emphasises the importance of factoring in cross-border […]
Functional needs for personal data within a payments system
1. Purpose of this paper This paper is intended to provide a high-level framework of personal data types and functional uses of personal data within the ecosystem of a payments system. Its objective is to facilitate discussions on privacy in the context of a digital Pound by enabling consistent terminology. Some functional elements described in […]
An Accelerated Shift to Instant Payments Across Europe
Source: Ripple (This post was originally published in 2022 and has been updated as of May 2024) Instant payments continue the forward march as the transaction method of choice for consumers and businesses across the European Union and the United Kingdom. Entities like the European Commission (EC) are behind the progress, working to build more […]
Banco Central do Brasil Postpones DREX CBDC Initiative for Further Privacy Research
Last week, the Banco Central do Brasil officially announced a delay in its DREX central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, citing the need to further explore privacy solutions. In the interim, the bank plans to commence phase two, which will broaden the range of use cases. A call for suggestions is expected in the third […]
