Digital Euro Association | Newsletter (December)

We are excited to share that Ledger Insights has reported about the DEA event “Digital Assets and the Digital Euro”. Check out the article here. 

We are further thrilled to announce eight new institutional DEA members:

• Iberpay is the company that manages the Spanish Payment System (SCT, SCT Inst, SDD etc.). It is also leading in Spain with initiatives related to digital money in the banking sector.

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is a leading corporate and investment bank serving Austria as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. The group comprises numerous other financial service providers in the fields of leasing, asset management, and M&A among others. 

• The Association of German Banks is the voice of the private banking industry in Germany serving as the Association of German Banks with more than 170 private banks and around 30 FinTechs. 
  
  
• Blockchain for Europe is a Brussels-based membership organization for companies driving innovation, integrity, and empowerment through blockchain. To develop a European regulatory framework to support and promote blockchain-based innovation, this organization works closely with policymakers, academics and member companies. 
  
  
• Flatstone Capital Markets Inc. is a capital markets advisory firm and management consultant focused on Latin America with the aim of bridging the gap into the digital economy by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) models and Decentralized Ledger Technology (DLT aka Blockchain) applications.
  
  
• Trustody GmbH provides digital assets custody services to high-net-worth individuals, corporates and institutional digital asset holders, including regulated financial institutions.
  
  
• Vyoma Partner AG is a strategy, business and legal consultancy firm that brings together deep roots in traditional finance, and substantial experience in digital assets, cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance.
  
  
• Polycrypt develops cryptographic decentralized off-chain solutions which tackle scalability challenges enabling mass adoption of blockchains. 

Welcome to the DEA!

DEA News

• DEA active institutional member Finery Markets is conducting a survey on how institutional traders and investors execute trades in the digital assets markets. The results of that survey will be published in a report together with PwC and the goal is to gain a better understanding of institutional players’ situation and preferences in the maturing digital assets markets. As you are considered as an important player in the institutional crypto markets, your participation in this short fully anonymous survey would be highly valuable. You can find the survey here.

The DEA Podcast continues with further episodes: 

• Episode 11 focuses on stablecoins. DEA founding member Manuel Klein talks with Markus Franke, Partner and economist at cLabs who works on Celo stablecoins, about what stablecoins are, which different types of stablecoins exist, and which advantages and disadvantages the different types of stablecoins bring.
  
  
• Episode 12 sheds light on agent-based simulation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). DEA Chief Operating Officer (COO) Valentin Seehausen and Kimmo Soramäki, Founder and CEO of FNA, seek answers to the following questions: What impact will introducing a CBDC have on the financial and economic system? Can CBDCs be configured without largely impacting the banking sector balance sheet?  

DEA Events

Please find below the upcoming events of the DEA and digital euro community:

• DEA Thesis Award Winner Ceremony  (January 20, 2022, 17:00 CET) 

We are thrilled that submissions for the DEA Thesis Award have far-exceeded our expectations! Well done and a big thank you to all students who have submitted their theses. Our panel will now commence with their evaluations and winners will be announced in January! Winners will present their research in a members-only event on January 20. More information will follow.

• The Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Summit (January 26-28, 2022)

The Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Summit, a free and online event, will provide the latest research and best practices for those interested in cryptocurrencies in their professional and personal lives. The DEA is excited to be a partner of the conference and is looking forward to interesting presentations and panels. You can register here. 

DEA Career Opportunities

Please find below the job opportunities by the DEA members:

• DEA supporting member Bundesdruckerei-Gruppe is looking for a senior product manager/product owner digital currency. The Bundesdruckerei works on innovative products and technology to keep data and identities safe. Sounds interesting? Read the job description.
  
  
• DEA institutional member Blockchain Founders Group (BFG) is now accepting applications to find and support startups. From February to summer 2022, it will provide mentorship, funding, and support for next-generation business models related to crypto, DeFi, NFT, IoT (or other crypto/blockchain-based business models). You get the chance to receive funding of €60,000 per startup. Apply here until January 16, 2022!

DEA Publications

We present the publications by our DEA partners and experts.

• Update of the CBDC Tracker! By DEA Chairman Jonas Gross and DEA Expert Igor Mikhalev (joint work with Kaj Burchardi, Igor Struchkov, John Kiff, and Bihao Song). The CBDC tracker, a tool to compare global CBDC projects, has been updated. Check it out if you are interested in how CBDCs are being developed country by country.
  
  
• EU Search for Regulatory Answers to Crypto Assets and Their Place in the Financial Markets’ Infrastructure, by DEA Expert Dr. Agata Ferreira and DEA Vice Chairman Dr. Philipp Sandner, on the Computer Law & Security Review. They analyse the EU's current regulatory approach to crypto assets.
  
  
• CBDCs for the People? Where the Current State of Digital Currency Research Leads, by DEA founder Jonas Gross and John Kiff, on Coindesk. The authors provide a deep and detailed overview of the current CBDC landscape.
  
  
• A Brief Introduction to MiCA, by DEA Expert Deniz Baytemür. The author presents a brief outline of what The Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Proposal offers from a legal perspective.
  
  
• Novi is the new Facebook Pay, by DEA expert Enrique Titos. The author highlights the main features of Facebook's digital wallet: Novi.

Digital Money News

Please find below interesting news and publications on digital money from outside the DEA community:

Publications

• Central Bank Digital Currency: Considerations, Projects, Outlook, CEPR eBook coordinated by Prof. Dirk Niepelt. In this eBook, top academics and policymakers summarize the current state of the literature about economic, legal, and political implications of CBDC. They also discuss some current projects, and provide a vision to the future.
  
  
• Central Bank Digital Currency: Functional Scope, Pricing and Controls, by Dr. Ulrich Bindseil, Dr. Fabio Panetta, and Dr. Ignacio Terol. In this paper, the authors examine success factors for CBDC and how we can avoid that the issuance of a CBDC crowds out private payment solutions.
  
  
• The Present and Future of Money in the Digital Age. Lecture by Dr. Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB. Dr. Panetta highlights what the digital euro is (and isn’t), its differences with crypto-assets and stablecoins and its major benefits and implications on the monetary and financial system.
  
  
• History Gives Context to Future of Central Bank Digital Currencies. On the Economy Blog of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Dr. Amalia Estenssoro briefly analyzes technology that has introduced different forms of money throughout history, deriving some implications for the future CBDCs.

News

• BIS, Bank of France and Swiss National Bank conclude successful cross-border wholesale CBDC experiment. In a wholesale CBDC experiment conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Bank of France (BdF) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB), it has been shown that CBDCs can be used effectively for international settlements between financial institutions.
  
  
• Meta's WhatsApp Will Allow Crypto Payments through Novi Wallet in U.S., on Reuters. The cryptocurrency wallet, Novi of Meta - formerly known as Facebook - will implement a pilot program in the U.S. allowing users to send and receive money through the social media messaging app, WhatsApp.

If you would like to see your own work, research, paper, etc. shared through the DEA channels, feel free to apply as an expert or fellow to receive our monthly research questionnaire. We will evaluate your submission and, if suitable, share it through our website, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts as well as in the next newsletter.

That's all from us for now. We  look forward to hearing from you. 

If you have any feedback on our newsletter, please feel free to reach out to us.

The DEA Team