Central Bank of Turkey Reports First Payment Transactions on Digital Lira Network

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has conducted the first payment transactions on the test network of the digital lira. The monetary authority intends to proceed with more testing in 2023 and plans to invite banks and fintech companies to join the trials. Turkey to Widen Participation in Digital Lira Project, Focus … Read more

Sanctioned Russian Bank Tests In-app Operations With Digital Rubles

A Russian bank, one of the country’s largest by assets, has conducted a successful trial with digital ruble transactions processed through its mobile app. The state-owned Promsvyazbank was one the institutions placed under Western sanctions earlier this year in connection with Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Russian Bank Experiments With Digital Ruble Transfers via Mobile Application … Read more

Reddit Reportedly Testing NFT Profile Pic Functionality

Reddit, one of the largest micro-posting sites on the internet, is reportedly venturing further into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The company is testing a new functionality that allows users to set NFTs as profile pics, something Twitter is already doing now. Reddit released its own batch of NFTs, called Cryptosnoos, in June 2021, … Read more

Swiss National Bank Trials CBDC in Transactions With Five Banks

The Swiss National Bank has successfully employed a wholesale CBDC to settle transactions with five commercial banks, the monetary authority announced. The tests are part of an experiment carried out together with the Bank for International Settlements and Switzerland’s financial services provider SIX. Swiss Central Bank Tests Integration of Wholesale CBDC Settlement With Private Banks … Read more

Russia to Allow Foreign Residents to Own and Use Digital Ruble

The central bank of Russia intends to ensure that the digital ruble is convertible to foreign currencies and can be used by non-residents. In a document devoted to the digitalization of the Russian financial sector, the regulator reiterates its concerns over the risks associated with cryptocurrencies and insists that state-issued digital currencies are safer. Bank … Read more

Novi Launches Whatsapp Integration Pilot Program for Selected Users in the U.S.

Novi, the remittance and payments initiative of Meta (formerly Facebook), has launched a Whatsapp pilot test for customers in the U.S. This means that a small number of Whatsapp users will be able to send and receive payments, as well as purchase digital dollars directly from the interface of the messaging service. This is an … Read more

Central Banks of France, Switzerland and BIS Complete Cross-Border CBDC Trial

Bank of France, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), and the Bank for International Settlements have successfully tested the application of wholesale central bank digital currency in cross-border payments. The project used distributed ledger technology and was realized with help from private firms. France and Switzerland Explore Direct Transfer of Euro, Swiss Franc Wholesale Digital Currencies … Read more

Russia to Change 13 Laws and Codes for Digital Ruble

Authorities in Russia are gearing up to amend various pieces of legislation to facilitate the issuing and function of the digital ruble. Officials in Moscow believe this version of the national fiat needs to be regulated separately from other digital forms of money such as cryptocurrencies. Russia Prepares to Trial Digital Ruble, Officials Say CBDC … Read more