BIS
Central Banks to set standards on banks’ crypto exposure – BIS
A global standard for banks’ exposure to crypto assets has been endorsed by the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The standard, which sets a limit of 2% on crypto reserves among banks, must be implemented on January 1, 2025, according to an official announcement on Dec. 16. The report, dubbed “Prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures”, introduces the final standard structure for banks regarding exposure to digital assets, including tonenized traditional assets, stablecoins and unbacked cryptocurrencies, as well as feedback from stakeholders collected in a consultation launched in June. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision noted the report will soon be incorporated as a new chap...
BIS marks CBDC pilot as ‘successful’ with $22M transacted
A multi-jurisdictional central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value, according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post from the BIS. Graphic from the BIS on the CBDC pilot. Source: LinkedIn Daniel Eidan, an adviser and solution architect at the BIS,&...
Crypto’s adaptability, openness key to ideal monetary system, say BIS execs
Governments across the globe see central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a means to improve the existing fiat ecosystem. Cryptocurrency’s technical prowess supported by the central bank’s underlying trust is key to enabling a rich monetary ecosystem, suggests an International Monetary Fund (IMF) publication. “Digital technologies promise a bright future for the monetary system,” reads the publication attributed to IMF deputy managing director Agustín Carstens and BIS executives Jon Frost and Hyun Song Shin. A BIS study from June revealed that cryptocurrencies outdo fiat ecosystems when it comes to achieving the high-level goals of a future monetary system. Some of the most significant flaws preventing present-day cryptocurrencies from mainstream adoption, pointed out by the BIS exe...
Not the best week for crypto lending: Law Decoded, June 20-27
Due to Celsius Network’s withdrawal suspension in mid-June, the very topic of crypto lending made its entryway to the acute issues list for the regulators. Last week, lawmakers and officials continued to raise the question of necessary action, with significant utterance belonging to one of the key European crypto skeptics, Christine Lagard. European Central Bank president got so impressed with the Celsius crisis that she coined the term “MiCa II,” referring to the main regulatory package for crypto in the European Union. Lagarde believes the new MiCa should include separate crypto-asset staking and lending guidelines. It’s not necessary to be a civil servant to discern the flaws of the current lending model, though. A hardcore Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist and Swan Bitcoin CEO...
BIS to launch market intelligence platform amid stablecoin, DeFi collapse
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub announced the launch of a new set of projects targeting various aspects of traditional and crypto payments — including a cryptocurrency market intelligence platform and security for retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). BIS’s cryptocurrency market intelligence platform will be launched under the Eurosystem Centre initiative, which aims to provide vetted data about crypto projects. One of the key drivers for the project’s commencement is the collapse of numerous stablecoins projects and decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platforms such as Terra (LUNA) and Decentralized USD (USDD). As explained in the official announcement: “The project’s goal is to create an open-source market intelligence platform to shed light on m...
90% of surveyed central banks are exploring CBDCs — BIS
A survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, suggested that many central banks around the world are looking into rolling out a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In a paper released on Friday, the BIS Monetary and Economic Department said 90% of 81 central banks surveyed from October to December 2021 were “engaged in some form of CBDC work,” with 26% running pilots on CBDCs and more than 60% doing experiments or proofs-of-concept related to a digital currency. According to the BIS, the increase in interest around CBDCs — up from roughly 83% in 2020 — may have been driven by a shift to digital solutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the growth in stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. “Globally, more than two-thirds of central banks consider that they ...
Cambridge University launches crypto research project with IMF and BIS
The University of Cambridge is collaborating with some of the world’s top banking institutions and private companies to introduce a new project targeting cryptocurrency research. The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, or CCAF, has launched a research initiative aiming to bring more insights on the rapidly growing digital asset industry, the CCAF announced to Cointelegraph on Monday. Dubbed the Cambridge Digital Assets Programme, or CDAP, the project is a public-private collaboration with 16 companies including public institutions like the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and the International Monetary Fund. The initiative also includes banks like Goldman Sachs, financial giants like Mastercard and Visa, as well as major exchange-traded fund providers like Invesco. O...
Law Decoded: A different Congress hearing, Dec. 6–13
The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings that had been first and foremost about investor protection or security risks or threats to financial stability. Judging from reactions from many industry participants and experts, the exchange has been received as an overwhelming net positive, with legislators asking informed questions and otherwise acting like their goal was to understand this new thing rather than act on preconceived notions. Of course, there were tired qu...
