Fintech
Less than half of central banks engaged in tokenisation work
Respondents widely consider bonds for tokenisation, among other asset class
Most circulating stablecoins pegged to the greenback
Jurisdictions with stablecoins in use are largely high and upper-middle income countries
Financial stability seen as top risk from private digital money
Concerns differ somewhat by region
Majority of CBDCs designed to be domestic only
But a fifth of central banks are working on multi-currency CBDCs
Officials deny geopolitical fears driving UK payments upgrade
US card payments providers Mastercard and Visa will participate in industry meeting today
Central banks report 28 operational bitcoin ATMs on average
Jurisdictions with larger institutions have the most machines
Economists warn of emerging ‘sovereign-stablecoin nexus’
Researchers model regulatory options as stablecoins become intertwined with core markets
CBDCs politicised in one in five jurisdictions
Public and private sectors mostly concerned about privacy of digital currencies
Central banks develop GenAI tool for inflation nowcasting
Researchers say method has global applicability
Fintech licences issued yearly remain below 10 on average
Number of fintechs in operation averages just over 60
India launches CBDC pilot using 24/7 grain ATMs
Public can use QR codes or SMS passwords to release food
Central banks keep trialling link between wCBDC and RTGS
Most respondents motivated to issue wCBDC to enable financial innovation
Majority of central banks still lack CBDC issuance powers
Legal mandates are scarce in both larger and smaller central banks
BoE to assess eligibility of digital gilts in monetary operations
UK set to become first G7 country to issue sovereign bonds on DLT
Two in five CBDCs designed to be programmable
Over half of respondents’ retail CBDC projects are at research phase
Some central banks expect CBDC to boost seigniorage
Result depends on design features of digital currency, with many central banks unsure of the outcome
Iraq’s KRG launches payment system for government bills
Central bank-approved platform forms part of digitisation efforts in autonomous Kurdistan Region