Facebook’s ambitious digital currency payment project Diem is yet to get off the ground despite concerted attempts to win over financial regulators. According to The Washington Post on Friday, Diem is facing difficulties smoothening regulatory wrinkles with senior policymakers in the Biden administration. Even with the full weight of Facebook’s significant lobbying power in Washington, the digital currency project is yet to get off the ground. Reports indicate that David Marcus, Facebook Financial (F2) head, met with regulators in Washington earlier in September. According to anonymous sources reportedly present at the meeting, Marcus argued for the importance of crypto in …

Mastercard’s focus on crypto and digital currencies appears to have taken a greater dimension given the company’s recent move. According to a release on Thursday, the global payments giant has reached an agreement to acquire CipherTrace, a blockchain intelligence firm with crypto forensics capabilities for over 900 cryptocurrencies. As part of the acquisition, Mastercard says it plans to integrate CipherTrace’s operations into its own cyber security solutions for digital assets. According to the announcement, Mastercard will combine its cyber capabilities with CipherTrace technology to differentiate its card and real-time payments architecture. For Mastercard, the deal will allow clients and partners …

Government-backed Chinese banks have reportedly started exploring new use cases for the digital yuan by allowing citizens to use it to buy insurance products and investment funds online. The South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday that leading Chinese banks such as Bank of Communications (Bocom) and China Construction Bank (CCB) are working with fund managers and insurers to enable e-yuan payments for sectors beyond the retail landscape. The report states that CCB has collaborated with an investment funds platform, Shanghai Tiantian Fund Distribution, for allowing citizens to make online fund investments with the digital yuan. JD.com, a China-based e-commerce …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has shortlisted 15 “Global CBDC Challenge” participants to help build an in-house retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). An announcement shared by the MAS shows that the finalists include six companies from Singapore, four from the United States, and one each from Australia, Barbados, Germany, France and Switzerland, of which only three winners will be selected to deploy a retail CBDC in Singapore. Soon after the Singaporean central bank announced cash prizes for digital currency ideas back on June 28, the challenge reportedly saw the participation of over 300 fintech companies spread across more …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued preliminary guidelines for its proposed e-naira digital currency. In a sensitization document sent to commercial banks in the country, the CBN outlined several design features of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the document seen by Cointelegraph, Nigeria’s CBDC is codenamed “Project Giant” and will be pegged to the value of the naira. Thus, the e-naira will offer parity of value but will not be an interest-bearing currency. The e-naira will run alongside the country’s fiat currency, with the CBN responsible for issuing, distributing and redeeming the digital currency among …

Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and the head of the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, has revealed a possible early use case for the nation’s planned central bank digital currency (CBDC). In a recent interview published by Ukrainian media outlet TSN, the minister revealed considerations within the ministry to test out the CBDC by using the electronic currency in staff salary payments: “Frankly as one of the first pilots, we have on the table the question of paying salaries to employees of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in electronic hryvnia.” Fedorov made these comments while arguing the case for …

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is making another step towards the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by partnering with a German currency technology provider. The BoG officially announced Wednesday that it signed an agreement with German banknote and securities printing company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to pilot a retail CBDC in Ghana, West Africa. As part of the agreement, G+D will provide its proprietary CBDC solution known as Filia to pilot the issuance of a digital form of Ghana’s national currency, the cedi. The digital currency will be tested in a trial with local banks, merchants, payment service providers …

Jamaica is aggressively progressing with the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the Bank of Jamaica, or BOJ, has minted the country’s first batch of CBDC. The BOJ officially announced that its dedicated CBDC division demonstrated the process of minting digital currency at a financial ceremony on Monday. The issuing process for a digital version of the Jamaican dollar (JMD) was carried out with participation from Jamaica’s finance minister Nigel Clarke, BOJ governor Richard Byles and a group of senior BOJ executives, as well as a management team from Irish technology firm eCurrency Mint. According to the announcement, the …

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) continues progressing with its central bank digital currency- (CBDC)-like initiative known as Bakong, disclosing several project milestones. NBC’s director general and the Bakong project lead Chea Serey said in a Wednesday interview with The Nikkei that Bakong’s electronic wallet reached 200,000 users in June, doubling from three months earlier. Based on blockchain technology, the Bakong payment and money transfer service was originally launched by the NBC in October 2020. The digital money project has amassed nearly six million users in the first half of 2021, including those reached indirectly through member bank mobile apps, …

The Central Bank of Venezuela will launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in October alongside a monetary redenomination that will cut six zeros from the currency due to raging inflation. As of Oct. 1, the digital Venezuelan bolivar will begin circulation in the economy. Its cash equivalent will get a new 1-bolivar coin, along with banknotes ranging from 5 bolivars to 100 bolivars as part of the six-zero readjustment of the currency. The Central Bank of Venezuela made the announcement on Friday. The CBDC will be accompanied by an SMS-based exchange system to facilitate payments and transfers among its …

Chris Waller, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), seems to think it’s unnecessary for the United States government to develop a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Speaking with Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute today, Waller said he was “highly skeptical” of a central bank digital currency, addressing issues in existing payment systems. He feels that the U.S. government should only intervene with a potential digital solution in the event of significant market failures. “I am not convinced as of yet that a CBDC would solve any existing problem that is …

The Ukrainian government is moving forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans, as the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is now officially authorized to issue a digital currency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law titled On Payment Services, officially enabling the country’s central bank to issue a CBDC, the digital hryvnia, according to a Thursday announcement. The new law authorizes the NBU to set up regulatory sandboxes for testing payment services and instruments based on emerging technologies. The new legislation also requires close collaboration between the Ukrainian central bank and local startups in the payment market, …