Gluwa, a platform for real-world assets, announced on March 7 its partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria. The partnership arrangement aims to improve the functionality of the Nigerian central bank’s digital currency and promote financial innovation through blockchain technology. Improving the CBDC’s Utility Gluwa, a real-world assets platform, has entered into a partnership arrangement…
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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…
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Decentralized finance projects and their respective ecosystems potentially offer both promising opportunities and risks to the U.S. financial system, a Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) study has found. The CFTC study report recommends conducting a gap analysis against current capabilities and capacity and addressing critical gaps with more funding, personnel, and tools. Decentralized Finance Can…
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Some 41% of central banks that participated in the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) study said they expect to have an operational central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2028. The survey found that the sentiment towards CBDCs is turning positive with 30% of the respondents having become more inclined to issue a digital…
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The United Nations Development Programme together with the Algorand Foundation are set to launch a blockchain academy in the first quarter of 2024. The objective of the academy is to provide the UNDP’s employees “with knowledge and insights into the applications of blockchain technology.” Course Material to Be Made Available to Staff Members of Other…
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Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has argued that digitalization could help to scale up “financial inclusion.” During a keynote, Georgieva stated that digitalization worked well in this sense and called for an extension of initiatives to promote financial inclusion. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Calls to Digitalize Economies Kristalina Georgieva,…
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Despite the role it has played in narrowing the financial inclusion gap, the e-naira central bank digital currency still poses a risk to financial stability. In addition to bolstering the financial inclusion rate, the central bank claimed that the CBDC would “widen the size and stability of banks’ deposit base.” Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Rates According…
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The Kenyan fintech startup Kotani Pay has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round which was led by P1 Ventures. The capital raised will be used to fund the startup’s expansion into five African countries. Felix Macharia said his firm is working with central banks, some of whom “are actually getting excited about some…
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The central banks of Egypt and Nigeria have signed a fintech agreement to deepen the two institutions’ “cross-border regulatory collaboration” and information sharing. The London Institute of Banking & Finance, which also signed an MOU, will offer training programs, workshops, and courses to leaders in the Egyptian fintech sector. MOU Agreement to Help Boost Innovation…
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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an organization that seeks to support the international cooperation of the world’s central banks, has released the results of its 2022 survey on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and crypto. The survey found that 93% of the 86 banks surveyed were involved in CBDC-related work at different levels. BIS:…
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