Lebanon Preparing Central Bank Digital Currency for 2021 Rollout

Lebanon's central bank governor says the country, whose lira has been in freefall, is preparing to launch a digital currency in 2021. Lebanon’s central bank plans to launch a new digital currency in 2021 as part of a broader effort to combat a parallel economic and financial crisis that has engulfed the country.Central bank governor Riad Salameh told a gathering of officials Monday that “We must prepare a Lebanese digital currency project” as a way to shore up confidence in the banking system."As for the monetary supply in the Lebanese market, it is estimated that there are $10 billion....

In an ever-growing list of countries issuing public advisories about bitcoin and digital currency as a whole, Lebanon is also doing the same. Specifically, it's the Bank of Lebanon - and they have much similar things to say as previous nations who have issued warnings. In the advisory, dated December 19th, 2013, the Bank of Lebanon warns users that user funds in bitcoin are not in any way backed by the government, and funds sent to another party by means of digital currency either willingly or accidentally are non-reversible. The central bank also warns of the use of digital currency for....

The Bank of Lebanon, the country's central bank, has issued a bitcoin warning, the first such warning in the region. The warning was issued on 19th December 2013 and outlines a number of risks associated with digital currencies, many of which we are all too familiar with. The Bank warns of several risks: Transactions made through unregulated networks cannot be guaranteed and losses cannot be recovered. Unauthorized and incorrect transactions using digital currencies are irreversible. The highly speculative nature of digital currencies and the fact that they are not guaranteed by any....

According to Patrick Njoroge, the governor of the Kenyan central bank, the significant number of non-smartphones that are in use in Kenya means launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) now may be premature and could lead to many citizens being financially excluded. Central Bank Mulls Delaying CBDC Rollout The governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Patrick Njoroge, has suggested the lack of access to smartphones of more than half of Kenya’s mobile phone users is working against its plan to launch a CBDC. He warned the central bank may be forced to delay its....

Malaysia's Central Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), joined others by publishing its own statement on bitcoin this week. The statement was similar to those issued in other countries of late, but probably the briefest we've seen from a central bank so far. An announcement, posted on the bank's official website, simply said: "The bitcoin is not recognised as legal tender in Malaysia. The Central Bank does not regulate the operations of bitcoin. The public is therefore advised to be cautious of the risks associated with the usage of such digital currency." There has been a flurry of similar....