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France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) clarified its crypto-asset position in its response to the European Commission's consultation. Though the AMF defines any crypto-asset as "a digital asset that may depend on cryptography and exists on a distributed ledger," it still thinks it's early for precise classification of such assets. However, it clarified that proper distinction between crypto-assets that are qualified as financial instruments and that falls under electronic money should be made.

The Saudi Central Bank and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) added the Saudi Riyal as a settlement currency in Buna, the AMF-owned regional cross-border payment system, following the inclusion of the UAE Dirham and Egyptian Pound.

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) published "Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Practical Guide for Arab Central Banks" to support Arab central banks in their journey exploring CBDCs that matches best each jurisdiction and their central bank objectives, available resources, targeted implications. The framework takes into consideration country-specific conditions, infrastructure and as well as respective legal and regulatory frameworks.

The AMF and China's UnionPay have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish cooperation and create interoperability between the AMF's Buna cross-border and multi-currency payment system) and UnionPay. Buna and UnionPay will be connecting their payment systems to introduce to their network of participants, fast, efficient, and multi-currency cross-border payment solutions.

The Arab Monetary Fund published the Arab Regional Fintech Working Group's Digital Identity and Electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) Guidelines for the Arab Region.

Crypto trading company Coinhouse has become the first crypto company to be registered with France's Financial Markets Authority (AMF).

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has granted Binance's registration to provide crypto-related services in the country. Binance said it would "significantly scale" its operations in France following the registration approval, and planned to expand its team "to pursue further infrastructure development." Binance's had already obtained in-principle approval to operate in Abu Dhabi in April. In March, regulators in the Middle East also gave the green light for the exchange to provide services in Bahrain and Dubai.

Presentation by Galia Borja Gómez, Subgobernadora, Banco de México* FORO AMFE 2022 "FINANCIAMIENTO ESPECIALIZADO EN UNA ECONOMÍA INTERNACIONAL QUE SE REGIONALIZA. CASO MÉXICO on September 30, 2022.

Buna, the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization (ARPCSO) owned by The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), announced the launch of its Instant Payment Service (IPS). This service is now live and ready to onboard participants seeking payments that are instant and available 24/7/365, in a cost-effective way. It accommodates business to business, business to person, or person to person contexts, and is particularly tailored for low-mid value payments that are urgent or time-sensitive. Buna includes the Emirati dirham, Egyptian pound, Saudi riyal, and Jordanian dinar, plus the US dollar and the euro.

LCH SA has received the required regulatory approval from the French national competent authorities (ACPR, Banque de France and AMF) and European supervisory authorities (EMIR College, ESMA) to clear cash-settled Bitcoin index futures and options contracts. LCH SA will provide clearing services through its new dedicated service, LCH DigitalAssetClear, for these contracts traded on the UK FCA regulated digital asset derivatives trading venue, GFO-X. LCH DigitalAssetClear is underpinned by a segregated default fund, tailored risk management model and dedicated set of clearing rules. LCH SA plans to launch the clearing service later in 2024.

I report this Iraqi News story about the Iraqi central bank issuing CBDC just for the record because it's second-hand information (not directly from the Iraqi central bank) and it's odd in that it describes the CBDC replacing paper notes in transactions with central banks. Prior to this, the only evidence I have ever found of Iraq researching CBDC was a 2022 Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) report.

The Arab Monetary Fund Buna regional cross-border payment system went into full operation and settling cross-border payment transactions in multiple currencies.

An Arab Monetary Fund survey found that 76% of 17 Arab central banks are studying the possibilities of issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC), and three of them are participating in experiments to issue them. Two are expected to issue a CBDC in the next three years, while 60% of them expect to be able to issue within six years. 69% of Arab central banks are in the process of determining the type of CBDC issue, while 25% of them are involved in projects/studies to issue more than one type of CBDCs. Financial inclusion comes at the top of the motives to issue retail CBDCs, while for wholesale CBDCs it is combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Mastercard will join the Arab Monetary Fund's (AMF's) Buna cross-border real-time gross settlement (RTGS) payment platform as a direct participant. The collaboration will provide a simple, efficient and practical solution to current challenges that include high costs, long wait times and lack of transparency when moving funds into and out of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. By leveraging existing infrastructure and connections, the collaboration avoids the need for major investments or adjustments from participant banks.