The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, plans to “step up” its monitoring of digital currencies, according to a report by Reuters. This intent, as published in an IMF paper Thursday, details how the fund plans to “manage this far-reaching and complex transition” toward a digitized economy. “Rapid technological innovation is ushering in a new era of public and private digital money,” the report reads, highlighting the benefits of digital assets. “Payments will become easier, faster, cheaper, and more accessible, and will cross borders swiftly. These improvements could foster efficiency and inclusion, with major benefits for all.” Related: IMF plans to …

Ghana's vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia believes that African governments need to embrace digital currencies to facilitate trade throughout the continent. As reported by Ghanaweb Bawumia outlined his argument during the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference, which boasted the theme of “Facilitating Trade and Trade-Finance in AfCFTA; The Role of the Financial Services Sector.” He argued that trade between African countries demands a “single central payment” system. Currently, moving goods over African borders is costly and time-consuming. A digital payments system, Dr. Bawumia believes, would rectify these issues. Related: Can blockchain make a difference? Africa sees vast monetary …

Amid the Bank of Russia continuing progressing with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development, one survey suggested that few Russians are ready to accept salary payments in the digital ruble. Almost half of the Russian respondents strongly objected to receiving salaries in the digital ruble in a new survey by local recruitment site HeadHunter. Only 11% of respondents said that they were ready to get salaried in the digital ruble, while 41% indicated that they were “categorically opposed” to being paid in the CBDC, local news agency Izvestia reported on Wednesday. As Russia is preparing to roll out digital …

A bill to establish a crypto task force in Pennsylvania has been introduced in the state’s General Assembly. According to the details of HB1724 published by LegiScan, the proposed crypto task force will be mandated to examine the potential impact of widespread crypto and digital currency adoption in the state. A moderately partisan bill introduced by eight Democratic and two Republican members of the General Assembly, the proposed legislation, if passed, will be known as the “Digital Currency Task Force Act.” Introduced back on July 19, the bill has been referred to the Committee on Commerce. Outlining the duties of …

Leading contemporary artist Damien Hirst’s nonfungible token (NFT) drop dubbed “The Currency” has been oversubscribed by more than six times. The NFT drop consists of 10,000 unique colorful dot pattern artworks with a corresponding NFT for each piece. Applications for the NFT drop closed on Thursday, and Heni Group, which hosted the sale, revealed that 32,472 people applied for a total of 67,023 NFTs. That means many applications will either be scaled back or unsuccessful, given there are only 10,000 NFTs available. Many collectors will now have to seek out the NFTs on secondary markets. Applications have closed for @hirst_official's …

The central bank of South Korea has chosen a blockchain subsidiary of local internet giant Kakao as a technology provider for its digital currency pilots. Kakao’s Ground X won the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) tender, becoming the principal technology supplier for blockchain-based digital won simulations, local news agency Korea JoongAng Daily reported Tuesday. The central bank announced that Ground X will participate in the South Korean CBDC project in cooperation with United States-based blockchain company ConsenSys as well as other Kakao affiliates like KakaoBank and Kakao Pay. Focused on infrastructure and decentralized applications for the Ethereum …

Three United States senators have signed a letter urging Olympic officials to forbid American athletes from using the digital yuan during the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. In a Monday letter to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board chair Susanne Lyons, Republican senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis requested officials prevent U.S. athletes from using or accepting digital yuan, given their allegation that it can be "tracked and traced" by the People’s Bank of China, or PBoC. The three claimed that the Chinese Communist Party could use the digital currency to surveil visiting athletes and upon their return to …

Spike Lee’s new ad dubbed “The Currency of Currency” launched online today, and the two-minute spot depicts crypto as new money for a diverse world. The 64-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker directed and starred in the commercial for crypto ATM provider Coin Cloud. In the ad, he explores themes such as racial and financial inequality, diversity and inclusivity. “Old money, as rich as it looks, is flat out broke,” Lee says, adding “they call it green, but it’s only white,” as he cites the lack of diversity in people depicted on U.S. dollar bills and coins. While the ad spot had previously …

The European Central Bank, or ECB, joins the growing club of crypto-friendly financial institutions as it announces the decision “to launch a project to prepare for possibly issuing a digital euro.” The ECB’s official tweet noted: “We will look at how a digital euro could be designed and distributed to everyone in the euro area.” According to a press release on July 14, the ECB's governing council has launched the investigation phase of a digital euro project. This phase is planned to last for two years, during which time Eurogroup will design a digital currency focused on “users’ preferences and …

Affiliates of South Korean internet giants Naver and Kakao are among the top contenders to work on the country’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots. On Monday, the Bank of Korea (BoK) announced the preliminary bid results for participating digital won pilots, local news agency Yonhap reported. Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X, Naver-affiliated Line Plus and conglomerate SK Group were the top three companies that submitted applications for a 10-month CBDC pilot contract. The BoK now plans to select an operator to run a blockchain-based simulation project for the digital won. The bank expects to reach a decision next …

Research from European blockchain company Guardtime suggests that the current pandemic may have accelerated the launch of a major central bank digital currency by up to five years. According to Guardtime, the company said the growth of many technology companies, improved use of networking and telecommunications platforms, and digitalization of the world in general could mean the first central bank digital currency, or CBDC, from a major economy could be rolled out within three years. The firm works with several central banks around the world in exploring the development of a CBDC. “There is an increasing sense of a ‘race …

Financial authorities in France and Singapore are actively exploring the cross-border applications of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In a joint announcement on Thursday, the Bank of France and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that they successfully completed a whole cross-border payment and settlement experiment using CBDCs and blockchain technology. The CBDC experiment was conducted with support and expertise from JPMorgan's digital currency-focused Onyx division on a permissioned, privacy-enabled blockchain based on the investment bank's Quorum blockchain infrastructure. As part of the experiment, the Bank of France and MAS simulated cross-border and cross-currency transactions for a Singapore dollar-based …