DEA Quarterly Insights: Shaping the Future of Digital Money | Q4 2023

Welcome to the latest edition of the Digital Euro Association's Quarterly Insights! 

This comprehensive blog post presents a concise overview of our association's activities and achievements over the past three months. As we continue to navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital money, this summary highlights our strides in promoting financial innovation, fostering education, and exploring groundbreaking initiatives.

Join us on this exciting journey as we delve into the key milestones and accomplishments that shape the future of digital money!

New Members 

In Q4 2023, the DEA welcomed Otranto Limited as its newest lite member and Stablecoin Standard as its newest strategic member.

Otranto Limited is a full-service consultancy focused on strategy, management, technical, and information security advisory services. It has global delivery capabilities for developing and implementing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Digital Financial Markets (DFMs) solutions.

Stablecoin Standard is the industry body for stablecoin issuers globally. Founded in 2022, the company has been instrumental in bringing together the stablecoin industry to educate, inform, and drive forward shared initiatives.

DEA Publications

DEA statement regarding the announcement of the ECB on proceeding to the next phase of the digital euro project

The DEA welcomed the European Central Bank's decision to take further steps in preparation for potentially introducing a digital euro. This digital currency can complement traditional banknotes and coins, fostering innovation, competition, and a more efficient, secure, and resilient financial system.

Read the entire DEA statement here: https://blog.digital-euro-association.de/dea-statement-regarding-the-announcement-of-the-ecb-on-proceeding-to-the-next-phase-of-the-digital-euro-project 

The Subtle Art of Slow: The CBDC Adoption Journey

In the era of rapidly evolving monetary systems, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have emerged as a new frontier. However, reactions to these fledgling systems have been a mixed bag. While central banks hoped for a quickly-embracing citizen response, the reality has been a slower uptake than expected.

This slower pace may be viewed as disappointing by some, but is it really as underwhelming as it appears? Or is it, perhaps, simply reflecting another aspect of how transformative technologies often find their footing amidst hesitance and a lack of understanding? Could it be that "slow and steady" isn't a setback but rather a necessary, anticipated part of the CBDC adoption process?

In this article, DEA colleagues, Conrad Kraft and Dr. Jonas Gross addressed these questions with lessons from history on payment innovation as well as CBDCs launched in developing and emerging market economies.

Read the full article here.

DEA Events 

Digital Euro Association Roundtables

The European Commission on the Digital Euro

At the October DEA roundtable, we hosted László Butt from the European Commission as our keynote speaker and guest to our member roundtable for an engaging open discussion on the digital euro legal proposal and its intricacies.

The Swedish Central Bank on the e-Krona

At the November DEA roundtable, we hosted Veljko Andrijasevic (CTO, Principle Enterprise Architect) from Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden), including a keynote on the e-Krona’s latest developments and Riksbanken’s view on CBDCs and cross-border payments in general.

The DEA roundtables are an exclusive discussion forum and are attended by selected DEA partners, key policy and financial decision-makers, and external financial sector experts.

Wholesale CBDCs: Tomorrow’s Case for Payments and Securities Settlement

In this webinar, the panelists discussed and assessed the current wholesale CBDC landscape and its implications for cross-border security and payment settlement, factors currently preventing these projects from moving forward and unanswered paradigms such as cross-jurisdictional and technological interoperability.

Watch the webinar 👇 

DEA Techy Tuesday | Episode 5 - UDPN Launched to Support Regulated Digital Currency Payments

In November 2023, Valentin Seehausen and Tamara F Schmidt interviewed Steffen Schacher (UDPN Lead, GFT) and Tim Bailey (VP of Global Business & Operations, Red Date Technology) about the Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN).

The UDPN has the potential to dramatically drive down the cost of digital payments and accelerate adoption by banks and businesses of all sizes. GFT and Red Date are leading a series of 12 UDPN PoC Use Cases and invite interested financial services and technology companies to join.

Watch the episode 👇

DEA Digital Money Academy on Stablecoins

November’s Digital Money Academy on Stablecoins taught by Marc Anders, Conrad Kraft, Alireza Siadat, Jón Gunnar Ólafsson, Jón Egilsson, Stefan Kromolicki and Gregory Klumov dove deep into stablecoin business models such as that of Monerium and STASIS, legal frameworks worldwide as well as their usage patterns and adoption rates around the world. 

The recording of the DMA is only available to those who have attended the DMA.

More details: https://home.digital-euro-association.de/digital-money-academy 

Events DEA attended

In the month of October, DEA had the opportunity to participate in the following events:

• International School of Management
  Lecture: Von Bitcoin zu Altcoins mit Deep-Dive zu Ethereum
  
  
• Crypto Assets Conference 2023B
  Panel Discussion: Is Banking Grade Digital Assets Infrastructure Currently Emerging?
  Panel Discussion: Tokenization is Coming, But Slowly - Why is That?
  
  
• FinTrender
  Webinar: Money Innovation - Digital Euro

November:

• Volksbank Lüneburger Heide eG
  Keynote and panelist at Digitaler Wirtschaftstag: „Bitte ein Bitcoin – schaffen virtuelle Währungen unser Bargeld ab?“

Discussion partners Ulrich Stock, Sarah Palurovic, Jens Holeczek and moderator Frank Bethmann (from left to right) at the digital economics day in Hamburg (Andreas Tamme Photography on behalf of Volksbank Lüneburger Heide eG)

Watch the event 👇

• FSBC, DLT Talents, Deutsche Bank Corporate Bank
  Presentation: Ice Age of crypto and where we go from here
  
  
• Progressive Group Digital Assets Week
  Presentation: Digital Euro
  
  
• Imh Konferenzen & Seminare
  Presentation: Ausblick nach China und Co – Wie funktioniert die digitale Währung im Ausland?
  
  
• Fintech Talents Festival
  Presentation: Financial Inclusion by Design
  
  
• Payments International 2023
  Presentation: CBDCs and the Digital Euro
  
  
• Cyprus Blockchain Technologies - BREW Conference
  Presentation: CBDCs and the Digital Euro
  Panel Discussion: CBDCs

December:

• 5th ECB Forum on Banking Supervision 2023. The event, featuring distinguished speakers such as Christine Lagarde, Andrea Enria, Jacques de Larosière, and Michael Barr, among others, provided a profound exploration of critical issues shaping the financial landscape. 

Welcome address by Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank

DEA Videos

Digital Euro Conference 2024

The Digital Euro Conference 2024 (#DEC24) will take place in Frankfurt on February 29th, uniting central bankers, financial sector and industry experts, technology providers, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs. This event will delve into the latest trends in CBDCs, stablecoins, and commercial bank money tokens, offering a glimpse into what the future of money will look like.

More details: https://home.digital-euro-association.de/en-us/digital-euro-conference 

🌟 25% off using the code: "DEACommunity25" 

🎟️ claim your ticket here: https://DEADEC24.eventbrite.de 

Watch the DEC24 trailer 👇

DEA Podcast

The Digital Euro Legislative Proposal: Key Take-Aways & Commentary

In this episode, the guests discuss the key takeaways and intricacies of the legislative proposal for the digital euro (i.e., CBDC). This recently published proposal aims to give legal ground for a digital euro for the 27 countries within the European Union. The guests Brett Walton (Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fluency), Daniel Szego (DEA Working Group Member) and Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia (Chief Economist, Hamburg Commercial Bank) discuss the implications of the proposal for merchants, banks and citizens using and working with the digital euro as well as the general sentiment towards the proposal by industry as moderated by Anne-Sophie Gógl (Board Member, Digital Euro Association). The DEA's stance and commentary on the proposal as published in the recently published "Commentary on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the digital euro" serves as one of the core pillars during the discussion.

Listen to the episode here: https://dea-podcast.podigee.io/57-new-episode 

This Month in Digital Money – News Digest October 2023

In this monthly news digest, Sarah and Conrad recap the news in the digital money space in October 2023. How is the digital ruble going to evade intermediaries in cross-border transactions? What does the digital euro preparation phase entail? Which results does the wrapped CBDC trial by the Reserved Bank of Australia and Mastercard yield?

Listen to the episode here: https://dea-podcast.podigee.io/59-new-episode

This Month in Digital Money – News Digest November 2023

In this monthly news digest, Sarah Palurovic recaps the news in the digital money space in November 2023. Which CBDC launched this month? What is DZ bank's recent announcement all about? Which country has announced the piloting of a wholesale CBDC for 2024?

Listen to the episode here: https://dea-podcast.podigee.io/60-new-episode

The DEA remains committed to pioneering the future of digital money, driven by innovation, collaboration, and a shared vision of a digitally empowered world. As we look ahead to the next quarter, we are excited to embark on new endeavors, expand our horizons, and continue making a positive impact. Thank you for being a part of our journey!

⏪ Previous Edition: https://blog.digital-euro-association.de/dea-quarterly-insights-q3-2023 

⏩ Next Edition: https://blog.digital-euro-association.de/dea-quarterly-insights-q1-2024