Switzerland to Conduct Wholesale CBDC Pilot with Central and Commercial Banks

Switzerland has announced plans to initiate a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot program, known as the Swiss franc wCBDC involving collaborations between the country's central bank and commercial banks. 

The Swiss wCBDC pilot project will be hosted on SDX and use the infrastructure of Swiss Interbank Clearing. According to the announcement, the pilot will run from December 2023 to June 2024.

The program aims to explore the potential of digital currencies in the wholesale market, facilitating the seamless transfer of funds between financial institutions.

XRP, TON approved in Dubai International Financial Centre free trade zone

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Free Trade Zone has approved the use of XRP and TON for cross-border transactions, marking a significant step in the adoption of blockchain technology within the financial sector.

The DFSA’s list of Recognized Crypto Tokens now consists of five crypto assets: bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), toncoin (TON), and XRP.

The new designations will allow over 4,000 financial institutions and companies located in the DIFC to utilise XRP and TON for transactions and services.

NFT Sales Volume Soars in November, Setting New Records on OpenSea

November witnessed a substantial surge in the sales volume of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), with OpenSea, one of the leading NFT marketplaces, reaching new heights in terms of transaction volumes. 

NFTGo’s data also showed that there’s been a 12% increase in NFT traders in the last seven days. Buyer addresses were at 22,804, while sellers were at 27,308 in the same time period. Meanwhile, the number of wallets that held NFTs hovered around six million. 

The surge underscores the growing popularity of digital collectibles and art pieces, indicating a robust interest in NFTs as a form of digital investment and creative expression.

Hong Kong SFC Establishes New Requirements for Tokenized Investments

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has introduced stringent requirements for tokenized investments.

The intent behind the tokenization of SFC-authorised investment products is tied to rising market demand and the government’s willingness to facilitate market development. 

The market demand in Hong Kong for tokenized investment products combined with the various benefits of blockchain technology became one of the key drivers for the SFC to consider issuing public guidelines on tokenizing the securities and futures markets.

Georgia Partners with Ripple to Pioneer Central Bank Digital Lari 

Georgia has teamed up with Ripple to become one of the pioneers in the development of a Central Bank Digital Lari (CCBDL). The partnership would include implementing and deploying the digital lari pilot initiative through the Ripple CBDC Platform. 

The National Bank of Georgia will utilise this innovative CBDC platform to evaluate potential applications of the digital lari, determining its advantages to the government sector, enterprises and individual retail users.

Ripple previously joined forces with Colombia’s central bank, Banco de la República, to investigate blockchain technology applications in its digital peso pilot by leveraging the Ripple CBDC Platform.

That’s all for this edition of our crypto newsletter. Stay tuned for more exciting news and updates from the world of blockchain and crypto!