Benoit Coeure Reveals BIS Plan for CBDC Trial Starting in 2020

An official at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and former member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), Benoit Coeure, insists that bitcoin has not passed the test of being a means of payment. He calls El Salvador’s move to make the cryptocurrency legal tender “an interesting experiment.” BIS Official Doubts Bitcoin Can Function as Means of Payment in El Salvador Benoit Coeure, head of the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), commented on El Salvador’s move to make bitcoin legal tender Friday. He said at....

The trial may lead up to the introduction of a CBDC in India before the end of this fiscal year, most likely in three steps; U.S.-based FIS is reportedly participating. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in talks with fintech companies and state-controlled banks about a trial run of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), local publication Moneycontrol reported on Sept. 5. An unnamed public sector bank official told the publication that the trial may precede an RBI launch of a CBDC this fiscal year.U.S.-based financial services company FIS was mentioned as one of the fintech companies with....

Russian lawmakers will reportedly begin working on the legal adjustments needed to implement the digital ruble plan scheduled for early 2022. On Tuesday, Elvira Nabiullina, governor of Russia’s central bank, said that the country will have a prototype of its digital rouble platform ready by early 2022 and will roll it out for trial use next year before making a final decision on whether or not to release its own digital currency, according to a Reuters report. Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers will reportedly begin working on the legal adjustments needed to implement the digital ruble plan to....

At the start of 2020, did anyone genuinely anticipate a global pandemic? Sure, the likes of Bill Gates and others warned of such a reality, but nobody knew if or when it would ever occur, nor did their warnings ever come with a plan that could prevent such a scenario. The truth is, things happen. Instead, we should never say never, and learn to expect the unexpected. By taking on such an approach, we can […]

Central bank digital currency interest continues gaining global traction. As part of DC Fintech Week, a digital conference on the governmental side of the financial technology sector, several international leaders gathered for an Oct. 19 panel called: Central Banks, CBDCs and Cryptoeconomics. "I don't see technological barriers in this area, but I do see technological challenges," Cecilia Skingsley, First Deputy Governor of Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, said on the panel. "The challenge is not so much technology in itself, but it's more about — we have to choose what sort of policy....