mBridge project involving 23 central banks aims to bypass US dollar-based financial system
The mBridge project, which involves 23 central banks including the BIS, is a payment platform designed to bypass the US dollar-based global financial system. It is nearing completion and has the potential to impact international flows, trade agreements, and the power of sanctions. The project has been working with commercial banks and exchanges to trial blockchain-based security issuance, multi-jurisdiction insurance payments, programmable trade finance, and FX settlement. The project has committees focused on key issues such as legal framework, policy implications, governance, redemption terms, ownership rights, and AML compliance, and has attracted observers from around the world, including the US central bank and the European Central Bank.
National Bank of Georgia selects Ripple as technology partner for Digital Lari CBDC pilot
The National Bank of Georgia has chosen Ripple Labs Inc as its official technology partner for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, Digital Lari. Ripple's CBDC platform will be used to execute and deliver the Digital Lari pilot program, which will assess potential use cases for the CBDC. Ripple was selected after a rigorous selection process that shortlisted nine companies based on technological potential, maturity, capacity, relevant experience, and desire to join the project. Ripple has previously collaborated with other entities exploring CBDC implementation, such as Colombia's Central Bank.
Visa completes Hong Kong central bank digital currency pilot program with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank
Visa, along with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, has completed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's CBDC Pilot Programme. The programme involved tokenization of deposits, allowing for near real-time interbank transfers and 24/7 functionality. The tokenized deposits were transacted through encryption, ensuring privacy for participants. Visa is now exploring tokenized asset markets and programmable finance, with the e-HKD Pilot Programme entering phase two.
Global Times: The CBDC pioneered by the People’s Bank of China represents the technological development trend of the world’s new generation of cross-border settlement systems in the future.
An article in the Global Times stated that due to the "non-market" intervention of US cryptocurrency exchanges after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, more and more third-party countries have discovered that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) promoted by the People's Bank of China represents the future trend of technological development for a new generation of global cross-border settlement systems, and is an exploratory guarantee for a fairer and more efficient global monetary system in the future. In addition, deepening the breadth and depth of China's opening up to the outside world, differentiating China's regional and local economic cooperation with foreign countries, promoting production capacity cooperation with partner countries along the Belt and Road, and reducing the risks of a global financial system dominated by the US dollar all require the extensive application of digital currency technology, the opening up of China's financial industry to the outside world, and the innovation of China's financial professionals.
The number of observer members of BIS cross-border CBDC project mBridge has increased to 25, including the IMF, World Bank, etc.
According to the update of the mBridge project released on the BIS official website, 23 central banks, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, are observing the initiative. So far, 11 out of 25 observer members have participated in the sandbox, allowing participants to simulate mBridge nodes and transactions.
mBridge has an inclination towards the Asia/Middle East region, and the observer members have shown the same pattern. Its participants come from various continents, including six from Asia (Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Turkey) and five from the Middle East (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia).
The representative of the United States is the New York Innovation Center, which is affiliated with the New York Federal Reserve Bank. There are also five EU member states among the mBridge observers, including very influential members.
In addition, mBridge plans to launch a minimum viable project in the middle of next year.
The first phase of Hong Kong CBDC trial is completed, and the e-HKD trial enters the second phase
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the successful completion of its internal first-phase trial and is preparing for the second phase of the e-HKD pilot program. The e-HKD pilot program was launched by HKMA in November 2022 to evaluate the commercial feasibility of its internal CBDC as part of its "Fintech 2025" strategy. The first phase was dedicated to researching six areas of electronic HKD, including comprehensive payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, Web3 transaction settlement, and tokenized asset settlement.
The Bank of Korea and Korea Exchange will conduct CBDC application testing in the carbon credit market
According to South Korean media Hankyung, the Bank of Korea and South Korean exchanges have signed an agreement to develop a carbon emissions trading simulation system based on distributed ledger technology and test carbon emissions trading based on CBDC. The specific details of the experiment will be announced at the end of November, and it is planned to be conducted in the third and fourth quarters of next year.
The Bank of Korea and Korea Exchange will test the application of CBDC in the carbon credit market
On October 30th, the Bank of Korea signed an agreement with the Korea Exchange to develop a carbon emissions trading simulation system based on distributed ledger technology, and to test carbon emissions trading based on CBDC. The specific details of the experiment will be announced at the end of November, and it is planned to be conducted in the third and fourth quarters of next year.
India sees cross-border CBDC as killer app
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, recently discussed India's progress in central bank digital currency (CBDC). After nearly a year of CBDC wholesale and retail pilots, he is more convinced than ever of the role of digital rupee in cross-border transactions. He also believes that CBDCs can offset the appeal of stablecoins.
The Bank of Spain releases a CBDC research report: Digital euro will make electronic payments an important part of the financial system
According to a CBDC research report released by the Bank of Spain, the nature and uses of CBDC are explained, with a special emphasis on the digital euro driving electronic payments to become the core of the financial system. The article also mentioned that the digital euro will have offline payment and privacy levels similar to cash. However, user data will still be controlled by specific financial institutions, not CBDC infrastructure providers.
Other European countries, such as the Bank of Finland, have also expressed support for the digital euro, seeing it as a highly anticipated project in the European payment field. The European Central Bank emphasized that the digital euro will bring Europe a more convenient life and a stronger future.
