The government of Hong Kong has announced Project Ensemble, an initiative that will test the functionality of a wholesale central bank digital currency (WCBDC) and the movement of tokenized deposits. If there is “sufficient interest” in the project, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will conduct a live issuance of the WCBDC in the future. […]
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Fed Chair Powell Eases CBDC Concerns: US Far From Direct Fed Accounts, Emphasizes Need for Congressional Approval
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell engaged with the Senate Banking Committee, signaling that the U.S. is just beginning to contemplate the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Powell Assures No Direct Fed Accounts in CBDC Plans, Seeks Congressional Go-Ahead In his conversation with the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair Jerome Powell explored the […]
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CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act Back in the Senate
The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act has been reintroduced in the Senate with the support of five U.S. senators. “As Americans face the prospect of an increasingly weaponized government, ensuring financial privacy is pivotal,” said one senator who supports the bill. A central bank digital currency (CBDC) “would open the door for the federal government to […]
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Robert Kiyosaki Warns: Brace for Worsening Banking Crisis, War, CBDC Surveillance
Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has warned investors of an escalating banking crisis, increasing threat of war, and the potential use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for surveillance purposes by central banks. “Central banks will push for CBDC … to SPY on us,” he cautioned. Robert Kiyosaki on Banking Crisis, War, CBDCs […]
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Philippines to Develop Blockchainless Wholesale CBDC in Two Years
The Central Bank of the Philippines will develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the next two years, according to Governor Eli Remolona Jr. The still unnamed CBDC will focus on the wholesale market and won’t use blockchain tech, instead relying on the Philippine Payment and Settlement System, owned and operated by the central […]
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Bank Of England Reconsiders: Potential Freeze On CBDC Launch Raises Concerns
On January 25, the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury published a response to the Consultation Paper regarding a ‘digital pound’ issued in February of 2023. The consultation paper sought the public’s feedback on introducing a UK central bank digital currency (CDBC).
Is The UK Ready To Introduce Their CBDC?
The BoE and HM Treasury consider that introducing a CBDC could provide people with an “additional choice of safe payment that is fit for the future,” unlock development opportunities for businesses, and make day-to-day payments more “convenient” while reducing costs for those who accept them.
The consultation response highlighted that the consultation marked the beginning of the design phase of the digital pound project and, according to the BoE and HM Treasury, the developing process of a CBDC and its platform will present lasting benefits for the digital economy of the country, regardless of the decision that is ultimately taken.
The consultation collected over 50,000 responses from the public, including individuals, businesses, and academia. The feedback illustrated some general concerns the respondents had regarding the digital pound.
Due to these concerns, the response by the BoE and UK Treasury determined that “it is too early” to decide whether to introduce a digital pound, as the feedback makes clear “that legislation introduced by the Government for a digital pound would need to provide protections to guarantee users’ privacy and control of their money.”
Respondents Concern Over A Digital Pound
The feedback received from the respondents brought forward two key concerns: privacy and the possibility of cash being replaced.
The response clarified that a digital pound would not replace cash, any existing form of money, or payment like debit and credit cards. However, it would complement physical money and other payment methods “as a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses for their everyday payment needs.”
To guarantee this, the response explained that “the Government has legislated to safeguard access to cash, ensuring that it would remain available even if a digital pound were launched.”
Regarding user privacy, the response acknowledged the importance of ensuring trust in a CBDC issued by the central bank is essential. Therefore, to guarantee that privacy is a core design feature of a digital pound, the following measures were made: the BoE and HM Treasury won’t have access to users’ data.
The BoE committed to exploring technological options to prevent the bank from accessing users’ data through its core infrastructure, and the BoE and UK Treasury would not program the digital pound.
The BoE and HM Treasury assured their commitment “to maintaining an open and collaborative approach throughout this design phase” by increasing both organization’s engagement with experts from the industry, civil society, academics, and technical specialists.
Lastly, the response confirms that experiments will be undertaken with companies “to test how a digital pound could work in the real world.”
The launch of the CBDC will be decided after the design phase culminates around 2025. If the decision to build a digital pound is taken, its introduction will come only after both Houses of Parliament have passed the relevant legislation.
Donald Trump Promises to Block Digital Dollar Creation — Calls CBDC ‘Dangerous Threat to Freedom’
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to stop the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) if he is elected president of the United States. He explained that a digital dollar would give the federal government “absolute control over your money,” warning that the government could take your money and you wouldn’t even know that it’s gone. “This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America,” Trump vowed.
Donald Trump Says He ‘Will Never Allow’ CBDC in the US
Former U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally in the state of New Hampshire on Wednesday. Among various promises Trump made was the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). The former president said:
Tonight I’m also making another promise to protect Americans from government tyranny. As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.
“You know what they’re doing. Such a currency would give a federal government — our federal government — absolute control over your money. They could take your money. You wouldn’t even know it’s gone. This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America,” Trump exclaimed.
Many lawmakers share Trump’s skepticism of central bank digital currencies, including Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN). The congressman has introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, which now boasts 75 co-sponsors. The bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from using CBDCs for monetary policy or offering services directly to individuals.
Several Fed officials and lawmakers question the need for a CBDC. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, for example, said in October last year: “I have yet to see a compelling argument that a U.S. CBDC could solve any of these problems more effectively or efficiently than alternatives, or with fewer downside risks for consumers and for the economy.”
While the Federal Reserve has started exploring the implications of a digital dollar in the U.S., they haven’t committed to actually creating one. In September last year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell clarified: “We have not decided to proceed [with a digital dollar] and we don’t see ourselves making that decision for some time … We see this as a process of at least a couple of years where we are doing work and building public confidence in our analysis and in our ultimate conclusion.”
What do you think about former U.S. President Donald Trump vowing to stop the creation of the U.S. central bank digital currency if he is elected this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
Report: Egypt Wants to Have a Functioning CBDC by 2030
Egypt reportedly aims to launch a central bank digital currency by 2030 to boost the competitiveness of its national currency. According to an Egyptian economic expert, a digital currency issued by the central bank is more secure than privately issued cryptocurrencies.
Enhancing Monetary Policy Efficiency
According to a report, Egypt plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-pound, by 2030. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue this digital currency, which is expected to boost the competitiveness of Egypt’s national currency and enhance the efficiency of monetary policy.
Details of the North African country’s CBDC goals are explained in a report of a study commissioned by the Egyptian Council of Ministers’ Information and Decision Support Center. Dubbed the “Document on the Most Important Strategic Directions of the Egyptian Economy for the New Presidential Period (2024-2030),” the document identifies policies that are critical for the Egyptian economy over the next six years.
In addition to listing the launch of the CBDC as one of its priorities, the document also urges Egyptian monetary authorities to continue their work on developing the financial sector. The objective, just like with the launch of a CBDC, is to help Egypt achieve 100% financial inclusion by 2030.
Meanwhile, Sayed Khedr, an Egyptian economic expert, is quoted in the Egypt Independent report extolling the virtues of an officially issued digital currency. Khedr also explained why the e-pound is superior to anonymously issued digital currencies like bitcoin.
“We do not know who invented Bitcoin, so the safety rate is low. On the contrary, if digital currencies are officially implemented by the central bank, the security rate will be higher,” the expert reportedly said.
Khedr, however, sought to assure Egyptians that the launch of the CBDC would not result in a reduction in the number of banknotes in circulation. He also claimed that the CBDC is capable of indirectly supporting the economy if marketed widely.
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Bank of Spain Announces Partners for Wholesale CBDC Trials
The Bank of Spain has announced that Adhara, a treasury and transactions payment platform, and a consortium formed by Cecabank and Abanca, two private banks, will be its partners in the development of several upcoming wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials, which will be complete outside of the ongoing digital euro process.
Bank of Spain Announces Wholesale CBDC Trial Partners
The Bank of Spain is moving to test a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) in partnership with two tech partners. The bank recently announced that it enlisted the aid of Adhara, a Web3 company, and a consortium of two national banks, Cecabank and Abanca, to design and test different platforms involving a wholesale CBDC.
In a document, the Bank of Spain describes that Adhara will work in “the simulation of achieving interbank payments both with the same tokenized wholesale CBDC and with several wholesale CBDCs issued by different central banks.” To this end, Adhara needs to develop several CBDC infrastructures to provide wallets to the involved entities and a digital interbank payments platform.
In the case of the Abanca-Cecabank consortium, the trials will be centered around “testing the integration of a wholesale CBDC with the settlement of financial assets and providing practical evidence about the possible advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of a wholesale CBDC compared to traditional processes, procedures, and infrastructures.” This comprises the issuance, tokenization, and registration of a simulated bond on a blockchain platform managed by Cecabank.
The bank opened the calls for contributors to present their proposals more than a year ago. These tests are separated from the ongoing pilot project of the digital euro, which entered the “preparation phase” in October, which includes finalizing the digital euro rulebook and the selection of providers to develop an infrastructure for the European currency.
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75 US Lawmakers Now Support CBDC Anti-Surveillance Bill
Congressman Tom Emmer’s CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act now has 75 cosponsors. “A central bank digital currency is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans’ transactions,” the lawmaker cautioned.
CBDC Anti-Surveillance Bill Gains Support in Congress
Seventy-five U.S. lawmakers now support the CBDC (central bank digital currency) Anti-Surveillance State Act. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN), who introduced the bill, shared on social media platform X Saturday:
My bill to protect Americans’ right to financial privacy, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, is up to 75 cosponsors, and we will keep growing support.
This bill limits the Fed’s ability to provide direct services to individuals and use a central bank digital currency.
“Specifically, the bill prohibits the Federal Reserve and the Federal Open Market Committee from using any central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy. In addition, a Federal Reserve bank is prohibited from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency directly to an individual,” according to the bill’s text.
The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act was first introduced in January 2022. Congressman Emmer reintroduced the bill in early September 2023 with the support of 50 lawmakers. On Sept. 20, 2023, he announced that the House Financial Services Committee passed his bill with the support of 60 lawmakers.
“Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, a central bank digital currency is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed and issued by a government and transacts on a digital ledger that is controlled by that government,” Emmer described, emphasizing:
In short, a central bank digital currency is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans’ transactions.
Do you think Congress should pass the CBDC Anti-Surveillance bill? Let us know in the comments section below.