Odaily reports: Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden stated that, given the many other developments underway in the digital payments space, there is no rush to introduce a central bank digital currency to the public.Speaking to the Atlantic Council at the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok, Breeden said the decision on whether to proceed with a retail CBDC (known as "Britcoin" in the UK) will depend on "what other ways we can get the benefits of tokenization and innovation." Breeden emphasized that the Bank of England wants domestic firms to develop a successful sterling stablecoin, providing an alternative in a market dominated by dollar stablecoins and preventing UK residents and businesses from having to rely solely on dollar stablecoins to access innovative payment services.

Odaily reports that Oracle has announced the expansion of its Digital Assets Data Nexus platform, adding payment execution integration, configurable wallet and smart contract controls, as well as AI-driven transaction monitoring and risk analysis features.The upgrade supports connecting banks' existing payment systems with digital asset transaction execution through the ISO 20022 messaging standard, and plans to integrate Oracle Banking Payments and Swift Ledger, covering scenarios such as tokenized deposits, stablecoins, CBDCs, digital bonds, and real-world assets. The related features are planned for launch in fiscal year 2027.

Odaily: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency for interbank settlement by the end of this year, as part of Project EnsembleTX, to enable 24-hour settlement of tokenized deposit transactions.The project entered a real-transaction pilot phase in late 2025. Currently, cross-bank settlement still relies on a real-time gross settlement system that operates only during business hours; the wholesale CBDC is also planned for use in settling derivatives transactions during after-hours sessions on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with related real-money transactions targeted to go live within this year.

Odaily reports: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stated that under the Demat 2.0 pilot, three issuers have raised a cumulative 102.5 billion rupees (approximately $1.072 billion) through tokenized corporate bonds. The pilot utilizes distributed ledger technology to issue, hold, and settle corporate bonds.Among them, REC was the first to complete a 50 billion rupee fundraising on September 7, with 18 investors participating; L&T raised 50 billion rupees on September 9, subscribed by 4 investors; IIFL raised 2.5 billion rupees on the same day, subscribed by 1 investor.SEBI stated that Demat 2.0 records corporate bonds as native digital tokens on depository institutions' distributed ledgers, and connects to wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) through the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Unified Market Interface, enabling atomic settlement of bonds and funds, which is expected to shorten post-issuance fund settlement time from the traditional 2 to 3 days to same-day.SEBI emphasized that tokenized bonds do not constitute a new category of corporate bonds, and their ISIN, issuer obligations, coupons, maturity dates, covenants, ratings, and investor rights remain consistent with traditional electronic corporate bonds. Currently, the first phase of the pilot is aimed at institutional issuance, with secondary trading and retail investor participation to be advanced in subsequent phases. (The Block)

Odaily News: Japan's Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, and major financial institutions plan to build a nationwide blockchain-based settlement infrastructure for stocks and Japanese government bonds (JGBs). A working group is expected to be established this summer, with related efforts slated to begin as early as 2027. If formal approval is granted and testing goes smoothly, the new system could become operational in the early 2030s.Under the plan, the Bank of Japan will convert a portion of reserves held at the central bank into digital tokens, serving as a wholesale CBDC for use among financial institutions. Currently, Japanese stocks and government bonds settle on T+2 and T+1 cycles, respectively. The new system aims to shorten both to near-real-time settlement. Additionally, major Japanese banks including MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho have already conducted pilot programs involving tokenized stocks and Japanese government bonds. (CoinDesk)

Odaily News: LG CNS plans to launch blockchain services targeting the stablecoin ecosystem in September, covering functions such as digital wallets, transaction processing, fee payment on behalf of users, and on-chain data management. Lee Jung-hwa, head of the blockchain division at LG CNS, stated that wallets are the most important infrastructure in the stablecoin ecosystem, and entities that control wallets and fiat on/off ramps will occupy key positions in the future. LG CNS previously participated in the Bank of Korea's "Project Hangang," accumulating expertise in CBDC and deposit token technologies, and verified multiple on-chain settlement models through experiments.

Odaily Planet Daily News: The Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan stated that the central bank has launched an internal pilot project for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Odaily News The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Ministry of Science and ICT have launched the "Deposit Token Payment Infrastructure Expansion Project," extending the outcomes of Korea's CBDC pilot, "Project Hangang," to the civilian payment sector. Directed by the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, the project involves the participation of 9 banks, 8 payment gateways, and 2 large-scale demand-side entities, with a total budget of 9.6 billion KRW, aiming to reduce payment processing fees for small and micro merchants. The project leverages existing payment systems rather than building new infrastructure. Users complete payments through their bank deposit token wallets, and merchants do not need to replace their terminals. The government also plans to apply deposit tokens to a pilot for official business travel expenses and explore a treasury fund management model linked with dBrain.

Odaily reported that according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea, the central bank of Korea did not conduct any independent security verification during the first phase of its CBDC pilot project. Security assessments were only carried out internally by the participating banks themselves before the project commenced. Prior to the project launch, only IT vulnerability self-assessments were conducted by the participating banks. These assessments were jointly executed by the Financial Security Institute, SK Shields, and the self-inspection teams of Woori Bank and Nonghyup Bank, forming an evaluation model characterized by "self-inspection by the regulated entity." In its pilot results report, the Bank of Korea acknowledged external concerns over the security of deposit tokens and responded that the preliminary reviews were sufficient. However, critics pointed out that this explanation is a self-assessment, not an independent third-party verification.

Odaily Planet Daily News The South Korean government has released a "Roadmap for the Internationalization of the Won," aiming to transition the currency from a regulated currency to a freely convertible one. The roadmap was jointly formulated by the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Securities Depository. The Bank of Korea also plans to advance a tokenized treasury bond pilot project linked to an institutional CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). Additionally, South Korea will participate in Project Agora, an international payment initiative led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). (coinpost)