The Countdown to Central Bank Digital Currencies - TDEW #5

This week was a wild one.

Across the Digital Economy ecosystem, we saw developments in digital asset management, Central Bank Digital Currencies, tracking solutions, and shipping. We also saw an unprecedented hacking of Twitter, where dozens of verified user accounts were exploited, including high profile figures like Elon Musk, and Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. Their profiles were used to post bitcoin scams - the scams offered to double and return any bitcoin sent to them. Of course, people were not returned any of the bitcoin they sent to these addresses.

In the headlines again this week, and for quite some time now, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been rising as a topic of prominence. CBDCs are a theoretical digital fiat that is controlled and issued by a central bank. Think digital dollars, or euros, or a digital pound sterling.

These digital fiat currencies, based on the same blockchain technology that empowers bitcoin and the thousands of other cryptoassets, would be a game changer for the way we bolster our economies and manage liquidity in times of crisis. In theory, a digital fiat currency could be issued quickly, tracked from transaction to transaction, and even automatically taxed. The potential for this technology is thought provoking, and major banks around the world are beginning to seriously consider the implementation of CBDCs in one form or another.

A few weeks back, Alex Tapscott and I had a thrilling conversation with Christopher Giancarlo, former Chair of the CFTC and current head of the Digital Dollar Project, which is investigating the promise of state-backed digital fiat for our economies. The webinar recording of the conversation is available to the public and you can watch the discussion here. We also published a summary report on the conversation here. In the webinar, Mr. Giancarlo walked us through the history of currencies, our economies, and the banking system, going on to focus on the benefits of moving away from physical cash towards state-backed digital currencies.

I hope you enjoy this week's edition of the Digital Economy Weekly and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Best regards,

Don

News at the Blockchain Research Institute

Last week, we celebrated our second annual Enterprise Blockchain Awards with a spin! Due to the pandemic, we weren't able to hold a live event, and opted for a fully-virtual model instead. The experiment paid off, and we worked with Partner MCI to transform the gala dinner into a TV show experience using a combination of technologies, from hologram-hosts, to VFX, to live-conferencing from our award winners. If you missed it, you can watch the replay of the ceremony here. In all, we celebrated 36 finalists and 11 winners at the July 7th Enterprise Blockchain Awards.

In other news,

• We featured a research report about banking on the blockchain with a look at Mt. Pelerin, an Ethereum-based open source solution that facilitates asset management and cuts compliance costs. It is a must-read for leaders of small to medium enterprises as well as financial service industry innovators.
• I updated some articles I authored for the Toronto Star, where I was welcomed as guest editor for their digital economy edition. Among these articles were topics about COVID-19, a new social contract for the digital economy, digital identity, and the opportunities for Toronto as a leader the 2nd digital age.
• We released our full webinar series about blockchain and pandemics to the public, including a free-to-access summary report!
• If you missed it, remember to watch Christopher Giancarlo's conversation with Alex Tapscott and I about going cashless, and the potential future of central bank digital currencies.

News from the Digital Economy

I have also had the pleasure of speaking at several events and engaging in some thought provoking conversations, including Campus Party Digital Edition, the Bridges to the Future Podcast with RSA Chief Executive Matthew Taylor, TedX Gateway in conversation with Govindraj Ethiraj, and Binance Off the Charts on July 14th. At these events, I have spoken extensively about the state of the digital economy, and the necessary steps we need to take to transform our societies for the better post-COVID19.

In other news,

• Cosco teamed up with Ant Financial to trial a blockchain shipping and document verification solution.
• ICONLOOP raised $5m to launch a decentralized identity solution called MyID.
• Tata Consultancy revealed a slew of cryptocurrency trading solutions for their banking customers.
• The Monetary Authority of Singapore completed a multi-currency blockchain payments pilot using tech from JP Morgan Chase.
• Sweden's Central Bank Released a 98-Page 'Economic Review' Devoted to Central Bank Digital Currencies.