Fintech Daily Digest

"Today's patchwork of privacy laws and industry self-regulation lack transparency and coherence and don't go far enough to protect customers and competition."

Under the original Libra white paper, Libra Association members would receive dividends for profits generated by reserve assets, which created an incentive for decisionmakers to invest in risky assets for higher returns, at the expense of the retail public. However, in the new version of the white paper, interest earned from reserve assets will not be used to pay dividends to investors.

Recent developments have re-opened the debate on the future of money. This Policy Contribution discusses two aspects: the implications of the rise of global private stablecoins, such as Facebook's Libra, and the role that public central bank digital currencies could play.

Open banking has grown to become a global phenomenon and while pioneers like the UK and the European Union (EU) have turned to regulatory action to support the industry's transition into this new era of banking, legislators in Switzerland has reacted more cautiously so far. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) has already rejected the proposal for an interpretation of PSD2, the EU's second payment services directive, to be adapted to the Swiss market and have instead let the market decide how the topic should be tackled.

Bakkt records over 50% surge in open interest, launching the options on Bitcoin futures contracts today along with cash-settled Bitcoin futures.

This Bank of Lithuania paper presents the CBDC concept and typology, surveys the literature, documents initiatives undertaken by other central banks, and discusses monetary policy and financial stability implications.

Saga is launching a virtual currency which pegs its value to the basket of currencies that form the IMF's special drawing rights. The U.K.-based company's advisory board includes the likes of Nobel laureate Myron Scholes and J.P. Morgan's Jacob Frenkel. But the firm doesn't plan to launch its token in the U.S. yet, claiming it doesn't currently have the regulatory clarity required to do so.

On November 25th, 2019, H.E. Chea Serey, Assistant Governor and Director General of the Central Banking, National Bank of Cambodia, participated as a speaker and presented on the topic "Experiences of the National Bank of Cambodia on the use of Blockchain Technology in Bakong Project to reduce the use of cash in the country" at the 22nd ASEAN Banking Conference and the 49th ASEAN Banking Council Meeting at Sokha Hotel, Phnom Penh.

The Indonesian Fintech Lenders Association has partnered with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to open a Fintech Data Centre to review the P2P lending industry.

Three months after launching its physically settled bitcoin futures product, the Intercontinental Exchange's Bakkt has gone live with its bitcoin options and cash-settled futures contracts.

We've often argued that a stablecoin is nothing more than a glorified exchange traded fund (ETF). So when it comes to the fuss about how to regulate stablecoins like Libra, is it possible that most of the hard work has already been done on account of the regulatory environment that governs ETFs?

The world's first blockchain-based digital collector coin created by the Bank of Lithuania is dedicated to the 16 February 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania and its 20 signatories. The coin is expected to be issued in spring 2020.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx is launching bitcoin options trading later this month.

Bank of China, one of the four primary commercial banks in China, has issued 20 billion yuan or around $2.8 billion in blockchain-based bonds for small businesses with their own blockchain platforms. 

Ukraine's legislature, has approved amendments that introduce legal terms and definitions pertaining to the crypto space. The new legislation, which aims to transpose the FATF standards into national law, also identifies who is to take responsibility for the oversight of cryptocurrencies in the country.

Under the PBOC DC/EP CBDC model, commercial banks will first obtain the digital currency from the PBOC by depositing RMB reserves. Users and businesses can then register digital wallets with these commercial banks to use the new digital currency, according to an online course on Libra and cryptocurrency given by PBOC's digital currency director Mu Changchun.

The People's Bank of China will reportedly start small-scale testing its digital currency (CBDC) in Shenzhen this month (December). The test will be performed in a "horse race" model, with each of four participating banks proposing a different payment model. While some of the banks chose to collaborate with the three telecom firms participating in the pilot to develop SIM cards with built-in digital wallets, others have built their independent wallet apps. Suzhou may test the new currency as well.

Thailand and Hong Kong have launched Project LionRock-Inthanon, a collaboration to use wholesale CBDC to facilite real-time cross-border payments between banks in the two countries.

The Financial Stability Board published two reports that consider the financial stability implications from an increasing offering of financial services by BigTech firms, and the adoption of cloud computing and data services across a range of functions at financial institutions.