Blockchain Catch-upThis is Charles Brett’s start-of-the-week Enterprise Times ‘blockchain catch-up’ 2022-Week 25. Necessarily it is idiosyncratic and selective.

It is not intended to be comprehensive but does seek to highlight ‘Quick Takes’ on specific developments as well interesting pieces to read, a listing of some (not all) announcements/press releases and pointers to upcoming events.

Quick Takes – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 25

The BIS view – ‘The Future Monetary System’

The Bank for International Settlements or BIS (the so-called central bankers’ bank) has published a special chapter entitled ‘III The future monetary system‘. It outlines how it sees the monetary system of the future, combining digital features with trust in central banks. This chapter III was pre-released a week ahead of the BIS’ full Annual Economic Report 2022.

The BIS’ key takeaways, in its own words, are:

  • a burst of creative innovation is underway in money and payments, opening up vistas of a future digital monetary system that adapts continuously to serve the public interest
  • structural flaws make the crypto universe unsuitable as the basis for a monetary system: it lacks a stable nominal anchor, while limits to its scalability result in fragmentation; contrary to the decentralisation narrative, crypto often relies on unregulated intermediaries that pose financial risks
  • system grounded in central bank money offers a sounder basis for innovation, ensuring that services are stable and interoperable, domestically and across borders. Such a system can sustain a virtuous circle of trust and adaptability through network effects
  • new capabilities such as programmability, composability and tokenisation are not the preserve of crypto, but can instead be built on top of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), fast payment systems and associated data architectures.

Quick Take: this is a must read for those interested in blockchain and where it fits into the money, crypto and CDBC arenas. The chapter is full of clear diagrams and crisp  analysis. In particular, report page 95 (et seq.) describes how DLT/blockchain technology can fit into the whole. Or, for those who prefer to listen rather than read, the BIS’ Economic Adviser and Head of Research, Hyun Song Shin, has a podcast in which he discusses the future monetary system.

7 pieces to read – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 25

Selected announcements/press releases/opinions – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 25

  • Blockchain expert rips crypto lender Celsius freezing accounts: ‘it’s unfortunate’ (opinion)
  • How blockchain can open up energy markets: EU DLT expert explains (opinion)
  • Blockchain payment company Roxe to go public via $3.6 bln SPAC deal (announcement)
  • Third non-EU country, Ukraine, joins the European Blockchain Partnership (announcement)
  • Crypto giant Tether to launch sterling-pegged stablecoin (announcement)
  • Digital blockchain budgeting accountability and tracking project Launched by SIMBA and USAF (announcement)
  • Union Mutual Selects One Inc Digital Payments Platform in Two-Way Implementation (announcement)
  • ynapse Network jumpstarts DeFi companies using its business tech solutions (announcement)

Selected upcoming events

  1. Hyperledger Global Forum (12th-14th September 2022
  2. CordaCon 2022 (27th-28th September 2022)
  3. LA Blockchain Summit 2022 (1st-3rd November 2022).

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