Law Decoded: When central banks seek public discussion, Jan. 17–24
As the Federal reserve releases its position paper on CBDCs, the Russian Central Bank instigates yet another crypto ban scare. Last week, two central banks dropped public reports that can have a sizable impact on the crypto landscape in their respective countries and beyond. The U.S. Federal Reserve published a discussion paper entitled “Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation,” which summarizes years of the Fed’s research on CBDCs. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Russia released a report that called for a blanket ban on domestic cryptocurrency operations....
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Retail users may have to wait in much of the world, however. Editor's noteIt may be too late for resolutions and too early for Lent, but lacking any discrete occasion, I would still like to give up United States political news for a while, or at least for the duration of one Law Decoded. Fortunately, in the spirit of going international and leaving the bonkers election cycle of the U.S., blockchain technology and stablecoins are playing a major role in the latest developments in cross-border payments and settlements. It’s long been one of the most talked-about applications of blockchain....
Determining the future of who can and cannot custody crypto and how much you need to know about them remains a central topic of discussion. Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law.Editor’s noteLast week’s Law Decoded sounded the alarm on threats to self-custodial wallets in the U.S. in particular. While such concerns have continued to take shape, nothing concrete has emerged from the U.S. Treasury, which was at the heart of last week’s conversation.Though I don’t like to recycle themes, it seems a reasonable....
Two resources available almost exclusively to central banks could soon be opened up to additional users as a result of a new digital currency project designed by a little-known startup and Swiss bank UBS. One of those resources is the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system used by central banks (it's typically reserved for high-value transactions that need to be settled instantly), and the other is central bank-issued cash. Using the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) unveiled today, the five-member consortium that has sprung up around the project aims to help central banks open-up access to....
Major central banks worldwide have spent the past year organizing their own working groups dedicated to exploring blockchain technology and digital currencies. During a three-day event in Washington, DC, hosted by the World Bank, the Intentional Monetary Fund and the US Federal Reserve, representatives from a range of central banks worldwide offered private details about the ongoing work at their respective institutions. At the gathering last week the central bank leaders expressed broad interest in how the technology might impact both the banks they regulate as well as their own....
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has reportedly asked four banks to pilot the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) ahead of its public launch.
RBI to Pilot India’s CBDC With Public-Sector Banks
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, has reportedly asked four public-sector banks to trial India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), Moneycontrol reported Monday, citing two unnamed bank officials.
One of the officials was quoted as saying:
The RBI has asked State Bank of India,....