Japanese banking officials continue to voice concern over China’s progress in the development of its central bank digital currency. Kenji Okamura, vice-finance minister for Japan’s international affairs, warned the global community of the potential risks of China’s digital yuan, Reuters reported Oct. 9. Okamura said that China’s digital yuan initiative is “moving at a relatively fast pace” as the Chinese government presumably aims to be the first global jurisdiction to adopt a CBDC. “First-mover advantage is something we should be afraid of,” Okamura said at a digital seminar backed by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, adding: This advantage …

While other countries may be placing central bank digital currencies — also known as CBDCs — at the top of their agenda, Australia could buck the trend. According to a local news report on Sept. 17, the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest payments paper has taken a cautious and sceptical line toward CBDCs as well as private-sector stablecoins. The RBA does not believe there is currently a strong policy case for issuing a CBDC in Australia, pointing to the success of the country’s efficient, real-time New Payments Platform. Moreover, while the use of cash for transactions is broadly declining, Australians …

A new report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows that 2020 is the year that momentum behind central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has truly taken off. Published on Aug. 24, BIS’ new working paper analyzes the global state of CBDC research and development work, technical approaches and policy stances. The comprehensive research draws on over 16,000 central bank speeches from recent years and assesses existing CBDC designs and motivations behind various countries’ embrace of the new model. “Attitudes about whether central banks should issue them [CBDCs] have changed noticeably over the past year,” the paper’s authors write. Their …

Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, took a 98-page deep dive into central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, referencing the country's own such asset — the e-krona. "The second issue of Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review in 2020 has a special theme, namely central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the e-krona," Riksbank's June 18, 2020 report said in an initial note to readers. Sweden's interest is not new In December 2019, Sweden unveiled intentions for a pilot program around its e-krona, in collaboration with Fortune Global 500 company Accenture. The new report from the country's central bank referred to its 2018 Economic …

Global implementation of blockchain technology in the food industry continues to grow as the world’s biggest food and beverage company, Nestlé, doesn’t put its blockchain efforts on hold. On April 6, Nestlé announced that the company is expanding its long-running IBM Food Trust blockchain technology platform to its coffee brand Zoégas. Getting all necessary coffee info from blockchain database With this new implementation, Zoégas coffee lovers will now be able to trace select coffee editions back to different origins in Brazil, Rwanda and Colombia, the company said. Additionally, consumers will be able to access some relevant coffee information including time …

The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank that started testing its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) in February, wants to host the digital currency innovation hub by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Officially announcing the news on March 6, the Riksbank noted that in order for the hub to be located in Sweden, the bank would need to undertake a number of measures to co-finance the activity. As such, the Riksbank proposed an amendment to the Sveriges Riksbank Act, asking the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, for approval to finance the activities of international organizations. The Riksbank requested the parliament for …

Cryptocurrency mining company Hive Blockchain Technologies announced a two-phase plan to expand its Ether (ETH) mining operations at the company’s flagship GPU-based facility in Sweden by more than 20%. In a press release, Hive describes the current moment as “an opportune time” to expand its ETH mining capacity. Hive’s Swedish facility is hydro-powered, and including hardware, the expansion will incur capital expenditures of just $200,000 per additional megawatt of processing power. However, with contention rising within the Ethereum community concerning the upcoming ‘ETH 2.0’ revamp and anticipated transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol, Cointelegraph spoke to Hive’s interim executive chairman …

The Swedish government is reacting to an alleged Bitcoin fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable people in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. Ukrainian officials were informed of the allegations in a meeting on March 2, according to an Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting report published on March 3. Foreign policy consequences of the fraud Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ann Linde championed an investigation published by national newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN). The article alleges that the Ukraine-based Milton Group, ostensibly an IT support company, defrauded victims in developed countries by proposing fake Bitcoin (BTC) investment schemes. The group reportedly …

When the United States Treasury said on Feb. 13 that it would seek to enact new regulations governing cryptocurrencies, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) fell by almost 2% within an hour. But Alex Tapscott, for one, thinks it unlikely that the U.S. government will squash Bitcoin, as some fear. As he told Cointelegraph during a recent interview: “Crushing BTC in the U.S. is not feasible, in good part because key U.S. regulators have already supplied guidance on how it should be regulated,” referring to organizations such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Tapscott, co-founder of the Blockchain Research Institute, remains …

The country of Sweden has begun testing an e-krona, bringing it that much closer to the proper release of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The pilot program will be in operation for one year, until February 2021. If and when the e-krona formally launches for use by the public, the idea is that this blockchain-powered currency would drive conventional payments and banking activities throughout the country. Instead of swiping a credit card or spending fiat currency, everyday transacting can move to the blockchain. CBDCs are a hot topic these days, and Sweden is the second country (after the Bahamas) …

Sweden’s central bank is planning plans to create a pilot platform for a digital currency known as the e-krona. While Switzerland took a negative stance towards a central bank digital currency (CBDC) earlier today, with its government claiming that it could do more harm than good, Sweden is starting to explore the potential benefits of e-krona, Reuters reports Dec. 13. Riksbank eyes partnership with Irish professional services firm Accenture According to the report, Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, said that it would partner with Irish professional services company Accenture to create a pilot platform for a digital currency dubbed the e-krona. …

Swiss cryptocurrency financial firm Amun AG has gained permission to offer its products to retail clients in the European Union. In a press release issued on Dec. 10, Amun confirmed it had received approval for a base prospectus it filed with Sweden’s finance regulator, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA). Amun praises supportive Swedish regulations Following regulatory approval, the firm can now market its various exchange-traded products (ETPs) to retail clients throughout the EU. “We recognise that the regulatory framework in Sweden has been supportive of such initiatives and we welcome its deliberation,” Ophelia Snyder, president of Amun, commented in …