Currency
HKMA awards Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licences
HSBC and Standard Chartered-backed JV to mint HKD-denominated assets from mid-2026
Geopolitics and debt are headwinds for dollar – Hammack
Cleveland Fed president says greenback’s long-term pre-eminence cannot be ‘taken for granted’
Banknotes: January to March 2026
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Stablecoin demand transmits to FX markets – BIS paper
Inflows into digital assets make acquiring dollars via swap markets more expensive, authors find
Inflation shock upends Aussie dollar rates flatteners
Hedge funds’ front-end curve trades stopped out as Iran conflict drove RBA terminal rate pricing higher
RBNZ responds to lenders’ concerns over cash proposal
Bank acknowledges industry view that prior consultation was lacking
BoE takes a walk on the wild side with banknote designs
Public votes to replace historical figures with wildlife, but plans incur backlash from some quarters
Fed independence key to dollar strength – FOMC member
Cleveland Fed chief says geopolitics and high US debt among factors that could ‘unseat’ greenback
Counterfeit notes continued to decline in Europe in 2025
ECB records ‘one of the lowest levels’, though Belgium, Cyprus and Czech Republic see uptick
Japan to trial blockchain-based central bank money settlement
BoJ’s Ueda says sandbox underway for ‘wide range of settlements’
Swiss National Bank announces new banknote designs
Central bank commissions Swiss firm Emphase to design new bills
BdF buys stake in Austrian and Portuguese note-printing facilities
Bank says move aims to consolidate existing co-operation between three monetary authorities
Bolivian authorities burn cash following plane crash
Central bank revokes legal tender of notes transported via military cargo plane that crashed in El Alto
China acts to slow yuan gains by scrapping FX forward hedge cost
PBoC to remove 20% reserve ratio as it aims for ‘reasonable and balanced’ renminbi
Renminbi options volumes plummet as vol grinds lower
USD/CNH volumes fell 84% in 2025 as PBoC currency management took hold
MAS and HKMA aim to green red envelopes over Lunar New Year
Monetary authorities encourage the giving of used notes or electronic cash gifts to cut waste
BNM selects firms for tokenisation and stablecoin pilots
Malaysian institutions to test wholesale payments and tokenised asset settlement
China says tokenisation illegal under existing framework
PBoC and agencies update 2021 crypto guidelines to place restrictions on real world assets
Kenya warns against ‘cash flower bouquets’
Floral-style gifts made of glued-together banknotes disrupt ATMs and are illegal, says central bank
CBDC or tokenised reserves?
Sayuri Shirai explains why central banks are taking different paths towards the same goal
China’s interest-bearing CBDC a world first, experts say
E-CNY now more integrated with commercial banking, thus solidifying country’s two-tier system