Posts tagged cbdc
Engaging with regulators, insights from near and afar: an interview with Chris Calabia in The Axial Studio
Engaging with regulators, insights from near and afar: an interview with Chris Calabia in The Axial Studio

DCI senior advisor Chris Calabia was interviewed on his experience as a regulator, his advice for innovation, and more. Chris worked for over twenty years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Through that role and others, including as a Senior Advisor on regulatory policy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chris has worked closely with regulators from all of the world, providing him a unique perspective not only into the mindset of US regulators, but regulators in many different socioeconomic contexts.

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Featured, ArticlesGuest Userchris calabia, cbdc, Regulation
Project Hamilton at NSDI '23
Project Hamilton at NSDI '23

James Lovejoy, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, presented "Hamilton: A High-Performance Transaction Processor for Central Bank Digital Currencies" at NSDI '23. This paper was co-authored by Madars Virza, Cory Fields, and Neha Narula of the DCI and James Lovejoy, Kevin Karwaski, and Anders Brownworth of the FRBB, and it proposes the Hamilton transaction processor, one of the primary results of this collaboration.

The featured image on this post is by Thomas Hawk, and used under a Creative Commons license.

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Featured, Papers, ResearchGuest Userproject hamilton, nsdi, cbdc, OpenCBDC
The DCI at the 10th MIT Bitcoin Expo
The DCI at the 10th MIT Bitcoin Expo

On April 22-23, the MIT Bitcoin Club hosted the 10th MIT Bitcoin Expo. DCI director Neha Narula gave a keynote speech, Cryptoeconomic Systems managing editor Reuben Youngblom presented a talk titled "The 70 Megaton Gorilla: Addressing the PoW climate narrative," and DCI software engineer Sam Stuewe presented an asynchronous talk titled "Are We CBDC Yet? A Healthy Dose of Skepticism." Sam also mentored participants in the Expo's Hackathon.

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Featured, Articles, VideosGuest UserNeha Narula, cbdc, central bank digital currency, Sam Stuewe, Reuben Youngblom, currency efficiency, bitcoin expo
In the Face of Fragility: Central Bank Digital Currencies
In the Face of Fragility: Central Bank Digital Currencies

On Tuesday, January 17th at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Axios markets reporter Courtenay Brown and MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative director Neha Narula considered the most pressing issues facing cryptocurrency today including how (and if) the industry should be regulated, how governments and financial institutions should interact with the sector, and how investments could be safeguarded. The View from the Top sponsored segment featured Ripple chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse.

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Featured, Articles, VideosGuest UserNeha Narula, financial system, cbdc, central bank digital currency
OMFIF: "CBDCs present new opportunities for handling disputes and fraud" by DCI Team Members
OMFIF: "CBDCs present new opportunities for handling disputes and fraud" by DCI Team Members

Potential designs may involve intermediaries in new and different ways

Central bank digital currencies potentially offer, in a digital form, the advantages of central bank money: settlement finality, liquidity and integrity. However, both offline and online commerce are susceptible to fraud and other kinds of disagreements. The existing techniques for managing fraud and disputes focus on giving users easy access to chargebacks, which relies on intermediaries to resolve disputes. Potential designs for CBDC may involve intermediaries in new and different ways, or may not use intermediaries at all, calling into question how to address fraud if CBDCs become widely used.

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Articles, FeaturedAshley JacobsonNeha Narula, Tadge Dryja, cbdc, Hypothetical cbdc, OpenCBDC, opencbdc
CoinDesk’s Money Reimagined: "Back to Basics After ‘Token Casinos’ Wreaked Havoc, With Neha Narula"
CoinDesk’s Money Reimagined: "Back to Basics After ‘Token Casinos’ Wreaked Havoc, With Neha Narula"

On this episode of “Money Reimagined,” Michael Casey, solo in Davos, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, speaks with Neha Narula, the director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative to discuss the trends of both digitalization and innovation pertaining to stablecoins, digital currencies and the future of public money,

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Podcast, FeaturedAshley JacobsonNeha Narula, cbdc
MIT, Maiden Labs examine CBDC inclusiveness issues in report from 4 countries
MIT, Maiden Labs examine CBDC inclusiveness issues in report from 4 countries

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) and associated organizations marshaled a sizable team of researchers in four low- and middle-income countries — India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mexico — to study inclusion issues related to retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) design. They released the results of their 15-month research project on Jan. 13.

In spite of a growing body of work related to CBDCs, “few if any proponents have offered practical insight into how CBDC will promote greater access to financial services,” the DCI, along with the MIT Media Lab and Maiden Labs, claimed.

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Featured, Papers, ResearchGuest Usercentral bank digital currency, cbdc, financial inclusion, Neha Narula
CoinDesk’s Money Reimagined "The Coming Digital Currency Wars"
CoinDesk’s Money Reimagined "The Coming Digital Currency Wars"

A Consensus panel from Austin, Texas, "Money Reimagined" host Michael Casey starts off the introductions of an important discussion with Emily Parker, CoinDesk's executive director of global content; the Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo, dubbed “CryptoDad,” served as 13th Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and Neha Narula is the Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, to discuss the social and geo-political implications of the rise of international competition between central bank digital currencies, stablecoins and native crypto currencies.

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PodcastAshley Jacobsoncentral bank digital currency, cbdc
MIT Technology Review “The MIT researcher who helps senators understand digital currencies“
MIT Technology Review “The MIT researcher who helps senators understand digital currencies“

Last summer, a special subcommittee of the US Senate met remotely to weigh the benefits of launching a central-bank digital currency, or CBDC—something that could, if optimally designed, transform the US financial system, making it more accessible to more citizens. For senators staring intently at their laptops, this was basically the first day of digital-currency school. And to introduce them to this highly technical world, the first witness that Senator Elizabeth Warren called was MIT Digital Currency Initiative director Neha Narula.

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Articles, FeaturedAshley JacobsonNeha Narula, cbdc, OpenCBDC, opencbdc, Policy
MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) announces research collaboration with the Bank of England on central bank digital currency
MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) announces research collaboration with the Bank of England on central bank digital currency

The Bank of England announced an agreement to collaborate on a twelve-month Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research project with MIT Digital Currency Initiative. The agreement supports and builds on DCI’s ongoing research into CBDC, while also contributing to the Bank of England’s wider research and exploration of central bank digital currencies. While no decision has been made on whether or not to introduce a CBDC in the UK, the work will investigate and experiment with potential CBDC technology designs and approaches, and evaluate key tradeoffs, opportunities, and risks. This type of research can help inform wider policy development by contributing important technical ideas and questions.

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Articles, FeaturedAshley Jacobsoncbdc, OpenCBDC, Hypothetical cbdc, opencbdc, digital fiat currency
MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) announces research collaboration with the Bank of Canada on central bank digital currency
MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) announces research collaboration with the Bank of Canada on central bank digital currency

Today, the Bank of Canada announced an agreement to collaborate on a twelve-month CBDC research project with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. The agreement supports and builds on the DCI’s ongoing research into CBDC, while also contributing to the Bank of Canada’s wider research agenda into digital currencies and fintech. The work will investigate and experiment with potential CBDC technology designs and approaches, and evaluate key tradeoffs, opportunities, and risks. While no decision has been made on whether or not to introduce a CBDC in Canada, this type of research can help inform wider policy development by contributing important technical ideas and questions.

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Featured, ArticlesAshley JacobsonOpenCBDC, cbdc, digital fiat currency
"Why Central Bank Digital Currencies?" in Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Liberty Street Economics
"Why Central Bank Digital Currencies?" in Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Liberty Street Economics

DCI Director Neha Narula co-authored the piece, "Why Central Bank Digital Currencies?" published in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Liberty Street Economics

“In the past year, a number of central banks have stepped up work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs – see map). For central banks, are CBDCs just a defensive reaction to private-sector innovations in money, or are they an opportunity for the monetary system? In this post, we consider several long-standing goals of central banks in their support and provision of retail payments, why and how central banks tackle these issues, and where CBDCs fit into the array of potential solutions.”

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Articles, FeaturedAshley Jacobsoncbdc, Hypothetical cbdc, Neha Narula, digital fiat currency
CNBC's Dain Evans interviews Neha Narula for "China’s digital yuan could pose challenges to the U.S. dollar"
CNBC's Dain Evans interviews Neha Narula for "China’s digital yuan could pose challenges to the U.S. dollar"

China is beating the U.S. when it comes to innovation in online money, posing challenges to the U.S. dollar’s status as the de facto monetary reserve. Nearly 80 countries — including China and the U.S. — are in the process of developing a CBDC, or Central Bank Digital Currency. It’s a form of money that’s regulated but exists entirely online. China has already launched its digital yuan to more than a million Chinese citizens, while the U.S. is still largely focused on research.

The two groups tasked with this research in the U.S., MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, are parsing out what a digital currency might look like for Americans. Privacy is a major concern, so researchers and analysts are observing China’s digital yuan rollout.

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Articles, Podcast, FeaturedAshley JacobsonNeha Narula, cbdc
"Still Getting Your Head Around Digital Currency? So Are Central Bankers." Talks with DCI's Neha Narula
"Still Getting Your Head Around Digital Currency? So Are Central Bankers." Talks with DCI's Neha Narula

If you are trying to grasp Bitcoin and understand what China’s digital yuan means, America’s Federal Reserve is right there with you.

America’s Federal Reserve says it is in no rush to issue a digital currency, but it is coming under intense and increasing pressure to research and understand the design and potential of digital money.

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Articles, FeaturedAshley Jacobsoncbdc, Hypothetical cbdc, Neha Narula
"A Fed digital currency looks inevitable. So do the problems" American Banker's Podcast interviewing Neha Narula
"A Fed digital currency looks inevitable. So do the problems" American Banker's Podcast interviewing Neha Narula

By Hannah Lang November 4, 2020 9:30 PM

In American Banker’s weekly podcast “Bank Shot”, Neha Narula was interviewed by Hannah Lang on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

A Federal Reserve-issued digital dollar could speed up payments, expand financial access and reduce financial crime. But it also brings trade-offs that policymakers are only just beginning to consider.

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Podcast, Articles, FeaturedAshley Jacobsoncbdc, Neha Narula, Federal Reserve, Digital Payments
Neha Narula took part in the panel "Platform Money: Sci-Fi or the Future in the Making?" during the 2020 DC Fintech Week
Neha Narula took part in the panel "Platform Money: Sci-Fi or the Future in the Making?" during the 2020 DC Fintech Week

There are many models for “money”--account based models and tokenized money dominate many conversations, but other pathways are breaking new ground as well, including new emoney solutions and conceptions of money as an infrastructure or platform that could support new financial applications and innovations. We talk on this panel about what’s likely--and possible.

Speakers - Andres Wolberg-Stok, Head of Strategy, Office of the CTO, Citi; Robert Bench, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; Patrick Murck (Moderator), Chief Legal Officer, Transparent; Jenny Cieplak (Moderator), Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP; Neha Narula, Director, MIT's Digital Currency Initiative; Dante Disparte, Vice Chair and Head of Policy & Communications, Libra Association

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Featured, VideosAshley JacobsonNeha Narula, cbdc