Financial authorities in New Zealand are in no hurry to issue a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, according to a central bank executive. Christian Hawkesby, assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, claimed that the country has “no imminent plans” to issue a CBDC. In a speech on Monday, Hawkesby said that the bank remains open-minded about further progress in money and payment technologies and has actively engaged in CBDC research. He said: “To issue currency that meets the needs of the public, we must take a new and holistic approach. We acknowledge there is much work …

Russian financial authorities have confirmed the government’s purported plans to issue the central bank digital currency, or CBDC. On Oct. 13, the Bank of Russia released a consultation paper on the development of the digital Russian ruble. In the statement, the central bank said that the digital ruble can become an “additional form of money alongside cash and non-cash.” The establishment of Russia’s CBDC project will require the creation of additional payment infrastructure, the bank said. The bank also said that the digital ruble will have “all the necessary properties to perform the functions of money.” The project’s timing will …

The recent health scare surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak seems to have accelerated the move toward a cashless society, with cashless payment spiking in concert with viral cases. Yet, our findings in a Genesis Mining study called “Perceptions and Understanding of Money 2020” indicate that a significant majority of Americans are not psyched about parting with their paper money on a permanent basis. To be more specific, we found that 60% of respondents are opposed to the idea of paper money being replaced with “digital-only money.” This could be a “devil-you-know” versus a “devil-you-don’t-know” situation where familiarity with paper money is …

China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as the digital yuan should be regulated in line with cash-related laws, according to a senior exec at the country’s central bank. In an opinion article on Sept. 14, Fan Yifei, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), outlined the major regulatory principles for the operation of the digital yuan. the digital representation of the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. According to Fan, the digital renminbi is legally compensatory to the traditional fiat currency. In the article, the deputy governor outlined that the digital RMB is “mainly …

The Chairman of Kazakhstan's anti-corruption service has called on the government to develop a national digital currency to fight corruption in the country. Alik Shpekbayev, chairman of Anti-corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reportedly said that national digital currencies like China’s digital yuan should contribute to a more transparent financial system. The news was reported by local news agency Kazinform on July 21. National digital currency is expected to cut cash transactions According to the official, an implementation of the national digital currency should inevitably reduce transactions in cash, which is one of major tools for illicit activity like …

More than two million Americans requested unemployment compensation for the first time last week, which may or may not affect Bitcoin. Recording its seventh consecutive week of decline, last week hosted 2.44 million new unemployment claims, CNBC said in a May 21 brief. These numbers, however, fall within range of economist expectations. Within the timeframe surrounding coronavirus, Americans have posted 38.6 million jobless claims to date, CNBC said. Pompliano expresses reopening need Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and partner expressed a push of sentiment favoring a national reopening after weeks of business closures and shelter-in-place orders, which have increased job loss …

Benoît Cœuré, the head of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, recently asserted that central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, have been brought “into sharper focus” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking during a webinar hosted by Accenture, the ReReinventing Bretton Woods Committee, and the Chamber of Digital Commerce on April 17, Cœuré asserted that “the crisis has exposed the value of technologies which enable the economy to operate at arm’s length.” He also revealed that the Bank of International Settlements, or BIS, is exploring tokenization as a possible solution for restarting segments of the economy during the lock-down. Coronavirus …

Square’s Cash App is allowing U.S. citizens and residents who don’t usually file a tax return to direct forthcoming government stimulus payments to the mobile payments application. The move comes after the company failed to convince the United States Treasury to let it distribute the stimulus funds to segments of the U.S. population. Cash App users can request stimulus payments to app Within hours of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) green-lighting the distribution of stimulus funds to citizens who don’t file tax returns on April 10, Square users can accept payments issued under Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) …

In a recent TED interview, Bridgewater Associates co-chairman and co-CIO, Ray Dalio, labeled cash as a risky place to park wealth, although he failed to mention Bitcoin (BTC) as an alternative. "Do not think that cash is a safe investment," Dalio told TED interviewer Corey Hijam in an April 9 interview. "Cash is a seductive investment because it doesn't have as much volatility, but it taxes you and your buying power about 2% a year," Dalio said of the U.S. dollar's stability, paired with its annual inflation rate. Tough times lead a flight to cash As recent coronavirus measures halted …

The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the global economy toward a major recession, but there may be a silver lining in all this for the crypto industry: The accelerated adoption of central bank digital currencies. The use of cash seems to be plunging these days — particularly now, as people are increasingly wary of engaging with potentially germ-infested surfaces. Meanwhile, some central banks are reevaluating their strategies in favor of digital currencies, which they believe may carry more benefits than just stopping the virus from spreading further. So, how likely are we to see a central bank digital currency being released …

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has issued a report arguing in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and digital payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The bulletin published by the BIS, a 600-member international financial institution representing the central banks of 60 countries, urges central banks to consider developing CBDCs in light of concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus through existing payment methods. BIS warns of COVID-19 transmission via credit card terminals The report notes a significant negative change in consumer attitudes regarding the use of cash in response to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) warning regarding the spread …

The race for central bank digital currencies has been on for some time now, and since the development of the digital yuan may have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, other countries could beat China to the punch. Almost exactly one year ago, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and Bitt Inc. — a financial-technology company based in Barbados — signed a contract to conduct a blockchain-powered CBDC pilot within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, an organization composed of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Later this …