Digital Ruble ‘Much Needed,’ Russia’s Central Bank Says, Won’t Delay Testing

The Central Bank of Russia has emphasized the importance of moving forward with its digital ruble project. According to a statement by a top representative, the monetary authority has no intention to delay the trials despite not all invited banks being ready to participate yet. Bank of Russia to Experiment With Digital Ruble Payments This Year The digital ruble is “very much needed,” First Deputy Chairman of Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova has recently remarked in a statement quoted by business news portal RBC’s crypto page. The regulator will…

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Fitting the bill: US Congress eyes e-cash as an alternative to CBDC

On March 11, United States President Joe Biden issued an executive order in which he encouraged the Federal Reserve to continue research on a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The order emphasized that the market capitalization of digital assets had surpassed $3 trillion in November — with Bitcoin (BTC) representing more than half of the total value of all cryptocurrency and peaking at over $60,000 — up from just $14 billion five years prior. For comparison’s sake, the U.S. money supply (M1) in the same month was…

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The Philippines to launch pilot CBDC implementation

[ad_1] As the world of finance continues to transform, new forms of money are challenging traditional monetary infrastructures that have been around for a long time. Currently, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have caught the eye of various countries, including the Philippines. In a joint event organized by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) — the Philippines’ central bank — and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, BSP Governer Benjamin Diokno announced the rollout of Project CBDCPh, a pilot implementation of a CBDC for the country. According to Diokno, the project aims to…

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BlockFi settles with the SEC, Russia’s CBDC trials begin and Cointelegraph releases its 2022 top-100 list: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 13-19

[ad_1] Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week $1T opportunity: JPMorgan becomes first major bank in the metaverse United States banking giant JPMorgan Chase has taken a dive into what it considers a significant up and coming arena of opportunity: the metaverse. The bank has recently opened a digital lounge called Onyx…

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First-mover advantage in a CBDC conversation, Jan. 10–17

[ad_1] Last week saw an unlikely first move in the opening narrative battle around a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency: Congressperson Tom Emmer came forward with an initiative to legally restrict the Federal Reserve’s capacity to issue a retail CBDC and take on the role of a retail bank. This could be massively consequential as we are yet to see a similarly sharp-cut expression of an opposing stance. As a matter of fact, it is not even clear whether other U.S. lawmakers have strong opinions on the matter other…

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Malaysia’s Central Bank actively assessing CBDC options

[ad_1] Malaysia has joined the growing cadre of nations that are exploring the value of researching and developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, stated to Bloomberg on Jan. 17 that while a decision about exactly how to move forward with a CBDC has not yet been determined, it has focused research on a CBDC “via proof-of-concept and experimentation to enhance our technical and policy capabilities.” It also stated that the ostensible reason for the current research effort was to ensure it is prepared…

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British Lawmakers Say a CBDC Is Likely to Hurt Financial Stability — Digital Pound Benefits Overstated – Fintech Bitcoin News

[ad_1] According to British lawmakers, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is likely to raise the cost of borrowing while hurting financial stability. They insist the touted potential advantages of a digital pound are being overstated. Erosion of Privacy British lawmakers have said the use of a central bank digital currency when making regular payments could potentially hurt financial stability and raise the cost of borrowing, a report has said. In addition, they insist the increasing use of the CBDC could also enable the central bank to monitor spending and…

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IMF Says Nigerian CBDC Drawing Global Interest, Warns of Associated Risks – Fintech Bitcoin News

[ad_1] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged that the recently launched Nigerian central bank digital currency (CBDC) is attracting interest from many institutions globally, including central banks. Still, the fund warns that the CBDC carries risks for monetary policy implementation, cyber security, operational resilience, and financial integrity and stability. CBDC Attracting Interest In its latest country focus report authored by economist Jack Ree, the IMF explains why Nigeria’s new CBDC has drawn substantial interest from the outside world and from central banks in particular. In the report, the author…

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Nearly 500,000 Nigerian CBDC Wallets Downloaded Since Launch – Fintech Bitcoin News

[ad_1] Nearly half a million e-naira wallets have been downloaded a few weeks after the central bank digital currency (CBDC) was officially launched by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the central bank has said. E-Naira’s Initial Trade Volumes In addition to the 488,000 wallets that have been downloaded, Osita Nwanisobi, who is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s spokesman, is quoted confirming that a total of 78,000 merchants from 160 countries have now enrolled to become a part of the e-naira ecosystem. Despite the CBDC’s seemingly early success, a report by…

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COVID-19 Asia Digital CBDC Bitcoin

[ad_1] Whether or not you’d believe inflation could reach World War II levels, it’s clear that the global economy post-COVID-19 looks uncertain. A chasm is growing between the developed and developing markets fueled by uneven vaccination rates and Gross Domestic Product growth. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are set to be a key factor that’ll accelerate the world economy fit for the digital age, ushering in a digitally-connected economy unlike anything we’ve seen before. Despite inflation being slowly on the rise, depressed economies like the U.S. are accelerating in their…

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