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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a white paper on the first phase of its Global Layer One (GL1) tokenization initiative. GL1 is envisaged as a public permissioned distributed ledger technology (DLT) network developed by regulated institutions for use by the financial industry across jurisdictions to deploy inherently interoperable digital asset applications, governed by common standards and technology for assets, smart contracts, and digital identities. Financial institutions will be able to develop, deploy and use applications for financial industry use cases along the value chain, such as issuance, distribution, trading and settlement, custody, asset servicing, and payments. The whitepaper details the design principles, objectives, considerations and potential uses of GL1. GL1 plans to expand collaboration with more policymakers, central banks, regulators, international standards setting bodies and financial institutions as work on GL1 progresses.

The Bank of England (BOE) published a discussion paper on innovation in money and payments. While it covers payments across the board, it aims to gather feedback for planned wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials. These will include a synchronization (or "trigger") solution that settles transactions involving assets that are tokenized on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms using the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system. The BOE also wants to trial a digital securities transaction in which an end user makes a tokenized deposit payment. Finally, it will test interoperability with global initiatives like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Project Agorá for cross-border payments. Comments are due by October 31, 2024. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/paper/2024/dp/the-boes-approach-to-innovation-in-money-and-payments

This survey starts with a high-level overview of the technical workings of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) with a focus on an increasingly relevant subset of ZKPs called zk-SNARKS. While there have been prior surveys on the algorithmic and theoretical aspects of ZKPs, our work is distinguished by providing a broader view of practical aspects and describing many recently-developed use cases of ZKPs across various domains. These application domains span blockchain privacy, scaling, storage, and interoperability, as well as non-blockchain applications like voting, authentication, timelocks, and machine learning. Aimed at both practitioners and researchers, the survey also covers foundational components and infrastructure such as zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVM), domain-specific languages (DSLs), supporting libraries, frameworks, and protocols. We conclude with a discussion on future directions, positioning ZKPs as pivotal in the advancement of cryptographic practices and digital privacy across many applications.

In October 2020, the G20 leaders endorsed the roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments. To monitor progress, the CPMI launched in 2023 a monitoring survey among central banks on the updated roadmap's three priority themes: (i) payment system interoperability and extension; (ii) data exchange and message standards; and (iii) legal, regulatory and supervisory frameworks. This report presents the survey findings for each of the priority themes. Respondents provided information on operational or planned real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems, fast payment systems (FPS) and deferred net settlement (DNS) systems within their jurisdiction. These include payment systems owned and operated by the public sector as well as the major private systems.

A paper co-written by a European Central Bank (ECB) staffer suggests required fungibility conditions for reserve asset-backed stablecoins issued by different issuers on different platforms. These include interoperable payment and settlement technologies, payment settlement finality, and seamless stablecoin convertibility into the quasi-ultimate means of payment (e.g., central bank money). Also, issuers should have sufficiently strong liquidity and capital positions to meet redemption obligations, including to cover potential variations in liquid off-chain asset price volatility.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper on the insights and lessons learned from a range of fast payment systems (FPS). Over 100 jurisdictions worldwide, including 15 jurisdictions in Latin America, have implemented FPS. The first, overview chapter draws out general insights from experiences in the Americas, such as on the impact of fast payments on financial inclusion, the role of central banks and domestic and cross-border interoperability. The next chapter looks in greater depth at Pix in Brazil, and its complementarities with other means of payment. A further chapter dives into the experiences of SINPE Móvil in Costa Rica, including the impact on banks. The final chapter explores the experience of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India.

In the wake of President Trump's January 26 executive which hinted at establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund and incorporating Bitcoin into the national strategic reserve-it is crucial to pause and weigh the tradeoffs involved. Instead of stockpiling Bitcoin-a move that might undermine confidence-the U.S. could integrate it into its financial system, allowing the government to shape the emerging ecosystem by setting standards and guiding innovation. The upside is a more transparent financial system in which the U.S. continues to leverage its most powerful asset: the dollar. Similar to how tech leaders open-source critical components to establish industry norms while monetizing other areas, the U.S. can expand its dollar platform and ensure seamless interoperability with Bitcoin and stablecoins. (Christian Catalini)

R3 has partnered with IDEMIA Secure Transactions (IST) to integrate offline payment capabilities into its digital currency platform. The collaboration aims to support the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by enabling secure transactions both online and offline on R3's Corda blockchain-based system. According to R3, the integration allows users to maintain network control while ensuring interoperability across different digital financial networks. https://r3.com/r3-partners-with-idemia-secure-transactions-to-transform-cbdc-payments-both-online-and-offline/

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) published a summary of the high-level findings of a July 2024 conference on expediting the interlinking of fast payment systems (FPSs). It found that emerging markets and developing economies have made considerable progress in fast payment adoption. As the number of domestic FPSs grow, opportunities are emerging to facilitate the cross-border interlinking of safe and efficient FPS. Work is under way in many jurisdictions to enhance FPS readiness to participate in such links, particularly to improve their functionality and align with messaging and compliance standards. Successful links to date have prioritized interoperability and smoothly managed coordination between the public and private sectors and among jurisdictions. It is expected that FPS links in the near term will be based on bilateral links, while over the longer term, these may coexist with more open and future-proof multilateral arrangements. Over time, the market will likely evolve to link between regional groupings (see https://www.bis.org/cpmi/publ/brief5.htm).

The Banque de France carried out two transactions involving tokenised assets: a reverse repurchase agreement with Société Générale and an outright securities purchase with BNP Paribas. Société Générale pledged bonds issued in 2020 on the public blockchain Ethereum as collateral, in exchange for CBDC tokens issued by the Banque de France on the DL3S interoperability solution (distributed ledger). Both parties used the technological capabilities of the Société Générale Forge platform, which acted as registrar for the issuer. The Banque de France purchased a tokenised euro area sovereign bond in the secondary market, and successfully tested two corporate actions - coupon payment and redemption - both of which were settled on the Banque de France DL3S platform. BNPP's securities business acted as subscriber and registrar for the Banque de France, operating on the Neobonds blockchain.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the results of the Project Meridian FX experiment that demonstrated the atomic settlement of FX transactions between different wholesale payment infrastructures across jurisdictions, and between an RTGS system and a DLT platform. Using an emulated UK real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, the project connected to three experimental interoperability solutions from the Eurosystem: DL3S (developed by the Bank of France), TIPS Hash-Link (developed by the Bank of Italy) and the Trigger Solution (developed by the Deutsche Bundesbank). In each case, payment-versus-payment (PvP) FX settlements were successfully orchestrated.

The East African Community (EAC) Draft Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan was validated by its eight member countries (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania). The Masterplan aims to enhance the speed, security, affordability and integration of payment systems across the region. It tackles key obstacles such as fragmented regulations, high transaction costs, and limited interoperability by outlining twenty targeted initiatives. These include a regional instant retail payment switch, and exploring using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for regional transactions.

Euroclear has joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) Project Ensemble, aimed at using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle interbank tokenized exposits and assets. As an Architecture Community member, Euroclear will contribute by developing a set of industry standards to support interoperability in Hong Kong's tokenization ecosystem.

The European Central Bank (ECB) will expand its initiative to settle transactions on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms in central bank money. First, it will develop and implement a safe and efficient platform for such settlements through an interoperability link with the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System (TARGET) system. Perhaps these could include the Deutsche Bundesbank "trigger solution" or the Banca d'Italia's TARGET Instant Payment System (TIPS) Hashlink solution, both of which were tested in recent ECB-run trials. Second, the ECB will look into a more integrated, long-term solution, perhaps based on the Banque de France wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution, also tested in the ECB trials. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/integration/distributed/exploratory/html/index.en.html

Crypto agility describes the capabilities needed to replace and adapt cryptographic algorithms for protocols, applications, software, hardware, and infrastructures without interrupting the flow of a running system to achieve resiliency. This draft NIST Cybersecurity White Paper (CSWP) provides an in-depth survey of current approaches and considerations to achieving crypto agility. It discusses challenges, trade-offs, and some approaches to providing operational mechanisms for achieving crypto agility while maintaining interoperability. It also highlights some critical working areas that require additional discussion.

In the rapidly evolving world of digital currencies, ISO 20022 emerges as a critical framework that could revolutionize how CBDCs communicate, ensuring seamless interoperability, robust security, and efficient cross-border transactions. By providing a flexible, standardized approach to financial messaging, ISO 20022 holds the potential to transform the global financial landscape, making digital currency exchanges as smooth as sending an email (but with monetary value attached).

Seven independent mobile payment systems in Europe have teamed up to form the European Mobile Payment Systems Association. Its mid-term goal is to make it possible for the companies' combined 25 million users to use all of the individual systems in each of the member countries.

Cambodian tourists visiting Thailand will now be able to use the mobile payment app to scan QR codes in Thailand, whereas Thai tourists should expect to be able to scan QR codes in Cambodia by the third quarter of 2020.

Rosetta is an open-source specification and set of tools that purports to make integrating with blockchains simpler, faster, and more reliable. For developers of new blockchain projects, the Rosetta interface makes it easier to ensure compatibility with exchanges that use Rosetta, and can dramatically speed up the time it takes exchanges to integrate with new blockchains and protect customer funds by ensuring specific security conditions are met. For the broader community of crypto developers, Rosetta makes it easier to build cross-blockchain applications such as block explorers, wallets and dapps.

Polkadot is a blockchain protocol connecting multiple specialized blockchains into one unified network. Polkadot is built to connect and secure unique blockchains, whether they be public, permission-less networks, private consortium chains, or oracles and other Web3 technologies. It enables an internet where independent blockchains can exchange information under common security guarantees. The network has an advanced suite of governance tools and, using the WebAssembly standard as a "meta-protocol", can autonomously deploy network upgrades. https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/en/getting-started