According to the latest survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), 41% of central banks expect to have operational central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by 2028, and nearly 70% of central banks hope to have CBDCs within 10 years. However, among the central banks surveyed, 17% ruled out the possibility of launching digital currencies.

Bitcoin will not kill the U.S. dollar. It will become the U.S. dollar, with all controls and restrictions that any CBDC issuer could dream of. “Impossible!” I hear you crying out, giggling to myself in the face of the utmost ignorance that seems to have accumulated quadratically with bitcoin’s price increase. “Bitcoin is freedom money!”

Yesterday Norges Bank shared the results of the fourth phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments. It doesn’t believe there is currently a need for a retail CBDC but clarified which conditions might trigger a decision. Given that tokenized deposits could provide an alternative to a retail CBDC, it will now explore a wholesale CBDC, for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits.

Norwegian central bank has shared the results of the fourth phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment. The bank believes that there is currently no need for a retail CBDC, given that tokenized deposits can provide an alternative solution for retail CBDC. Therefore, the bank will now explore wholesale CBDC for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits. The fifth phase will continue until the end of 2025, at which point the central bank management will have the tools to decide whether to continue with CBDC rollout.

Former governor of the People's Bank of China, Dai Xianglong, insisted that China needs to "lead the world" in the adoption of CBDC, which will help make the yuan "the most stable currency".Dai Bingguo added that Beijing also needs to promote the construction of a larger and better central bank system. China hopes to de-dollarize most of its trade departments and hopes that international partners will increase their use of the yuan.It is reported that countries such as Russia and Argentina have already paid for most of their imports from China in yuan.

Glassnode analyst @_Checkɱate stated on social media platform X that Tether is a CBDC. Travis is correct in saying that if the US government can shut down Russia's reserves, it is difficult to say they do not have the ability to shut down Tether's reserves. The most likely reality is that as fiat currencies collapse, developing countries will switch to the US dollar, and USDT is objectively superior to the peso, bolivar, and lira. Emerging markets mainly provide funding for US retirement, medical, military activities, and government generosity. Ironically, this is a win-win situation for both parties.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe, stated that he still has doubts about the use cases for a retail central bank digital currency, and that tokenized assets are the next logical step for a central bank digital currency.

According to a LinkedIn post, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in the United States is looking to hire a senior software engineer who specializes in developing digital currencies. This position will "support the research and development plan of the central bank's digital currency (CBDC) of the Federal Reserve," and the engineer will lead a team focused on CBDC research and "prototype design." This means that the Boston branch of the US central bank is exploring how to implement CBDC and what is needed to launch CBDC. However, the Federal Reserve has not yet committed to establishing CBDC.

According to reports, the central banks of Italy and South Korea have announced a memorandum of understanding to share technical knowledge in support of real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).<br>In terms of CBDCs, the paths of the two central banks are quite different. While the Bank of Korea has conducted retail CBDC trials, the current focus is on issuing wholesale CBDCs to support tokenized bank deposits. The initial tokenized deposit trial will be used for programmable payments, including voucher-based testing. <br>

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has launched a proof-of-concept for a central bank digital currency called Bokolo Cash, with support from Japanese blockchain Soramitsu. Bokolo Cash will be worth one Solomon Islands dollar and can be used in retail settings and for person-to-person transfers in the capital city Honiara. The project will also test wholesale transfers between commercial banks and simulated cross-border payments and remittances. Users will undergo “two-tier” Know Your Customer verification, and the currency will operate on a tailor-made blockchain based on Hyperledger’s Iroha with connectivity to Soramitsu’s public Sora blockchain.