• digital dollar first-mover advantage
    People,  Regulation,  Technology

    Fed Chair: Digital dollar will have a ‘first-mover advantage’ whenever it comes

    China may be far ahead but Jerome Powell said the U.S. dollar’s role of as the world’s reserve currency gives it a lead in any central bank digital currency race

    At the Federal Reserve "we actually think we need to get this right, and we don't feel an urge or need to be first,” Powell said of a digital dollar. "We’re going to look at it very, very carefully and we’re investing heavily in understanding the technology and analyzing the policy questions—the many policy questions.”

  • Ukraine selects Stellar for digital currency
    Cryptocurrencies,  Regulation,  Technology

    Ukraine selects Stellar to develop a digital currency

    The Ukranian government partners with the Stellar Development Foundation to build the infrastructure for a central bank-issued digital assets

    “The Ministry of Digital Transformation is working on creating the legal environment for the development of virtual assets in Ukraine," said Deputy Minister for IT Development Oleksandr Bornyakov. "We believe our cooperation with the Stellar Development Foundation will contribute to development of the virtual asset industry and its integration into the global financial ecosystem.”

  • Cryptocurrencies,  Regulation

    Russian parliament committee: make crypto legal

    The State Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets draft tax bill would give cryptocurrencies legal status—but ban their use as currencies

    According to a Dec. 24 report, the committee said its approval of the bill was motivated by "the ubiquitous spread of digital technologies and the expansion of the scope of the use of cryptocurrencies, including for illegal purposes."

  • Sweden decide on e-krona
    Regulation,  Technology

    Sweden to decide on e-krona by 2022

    A Swedish minister said that the government is reviewing the launch of a central bank digital currency, but a decision is two years off

    Sweden’s financial markets minister Per Bolund said today the government is studying the creation of a central bank digital currency along the lines of China’s digital yuan renminbi or e-CNY. However, the nordic state won’t even decide on an e-krona until November 2022.