Digital currency
Bank of Lithuania to regulate ICOs that mimic securities
Where coin offerings have properties of securities, the central bank will have oversight; financial institutions could have licence withdrawn if regulation is not followed
Central bank-issued digital currency threatens privacy – BoI official
CBDCs may not be compatible with rights of individuals, says Bank of Italy’s Panetta
Sarb says blockchain project exceeds expectations
System has capability to process twice the number of transactions as the current RTGS system
Visa outage highlights fragility of electronic payments
European network experiences outage for several hours on June 1, due to hardware failure; consumers forced to withdraw cash to make payments
BoE research says digital currency would ‘strengthen’ policy transmission
Under proposed framework, a CBDC would have limited impact on monetary policy but a lack of data means further research into design and demand will be crucial
Norges Bank does not rule out launching digital currency
Central bank publishes first phase of research, saying a digital currency could be an alternative to deposit money when cash usage declines
Brainard ‘optimistic’ DLT has future in financial services
While privacy remains a concern, Fed board member believes resilience of the technology means it has a future, even if crypto dies out
Canada’s Project Jasper finds DLT is viable for securities settlement
Phase III of the project saw central bank cash and assets instantly settled across a DLT network where privacy is maintained
No reason for public to have central bank accounts – Cœuré
ECB executive board member sees no current need for central bank digital currency, but says it could act as an alternative to cash in future
Dramatic fall in Bitcoin price correlates with introduction of futures, authors argue
Dramatic fall in Bitcoin price correlates with introduction of futures, authors argue
The hunt for a crypto taxonomy
Cryptocurrency, crypto asset, crypto token – or something else? Finding the right term helps shed light on the structure of the fast-growing crypto market
Bank of Canada paper offers advice on digital currency policy
Framework designed to help policymakers weigh up various forms of digital money
Venezuelan public invited to invest in national crypto asset
President Maduro announces public will be able to invest in ‘petro’ as well as gold; $1 billion from the proceeds of first petro auction to go to the central bank
Public should be allowed to open accounts with central banks – research
St Louis Fed paper argues against central banks launching full-blown digital currencies, but says an electronic form of central bank money “would be easy to implement”
SNB rejects idea of retail central bank digital currency
Governing board member Andrea Maechler says central bank digital currency would bring “incalculable risks”, and denies that crypto tokens are “comparable with” money
RBI to consider launching digital currency
Reserve bank to investigate issuing a digital form of central bank money, as it unveils measures to “ring fence” regulated banks against crypto tokens
FSB: cryptocurrencies too small to be major threat
Limited links to real economy imply crypto assets may avoid regulatory crackdown for now; work continues on consumer protection
Central bank digital currencies could aid policy transmission – BIS
BIS says CBDC may boost transmission of rate changes, but could also lead to runs at “unprecedented speed and scale”
Lithuania to launch ‘digital’ commemorative coin
Central bank will host a “hackathon” to decide on technology to underpin the digital asset
ECB’s Mersch urges caution on regulatory sandboxes
The ECB board member is “not sure we have the right answers yet”
UK lawmakers launch inquiry into DLT and cryptocurrency
Parliamentary committee is to investigate whether UK regulators have struck the right balance in regulating emerging technologies without stifling innovation
Polish central bank uses YouTube comedy to warn of digital currency dangers
Film runs up over 500,000 views, but some local media criticise lack of transparency
We don’t need cryptocurrencies – former St Louis Fed economist
Current payment infrastructure and physical cash already provide the benefits offered by cryptocurrencies, says Stephen Williamson
European authorities warn of dangers in cryptocurrency markets
Spanish and Dutch central banks warn of “misleading” data and unregulated markets