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Briefing
The Controversial Business of Cash-to-Crypto Bitcoin ATMs
Bitcoin ATMs, standalone machines that convert cash to cryptocurrency, are a relatively new and less examined part of the cryptocurrency world. This controversial industry has garnered criticism in the press as well as the U.S. government for its association with illegal or financially predatory practices. However, despite the recent downturn in cryptocurrency prices, some U.S. consumers are still using Bitcoin ATMs, suggesting the industry meets a demand from consumers who want an alternative to crypto exchanges.
Briefing
What Are Stablecoins Used for Today? Estimating the Distribution of Stablecoins
Uncovering where stablecoins are held and how they are used in the financial ecosystem provides three key insights: stablecoins are rarely used for payments, stablecoin infrastructure lacks interoperability, and the stablecoin ecosystem is still predominantly tied to crypto finance.
Briefing
A Brief History of Deposit Tokens and Tokenized Deposits
The tokenization of commercial bank deposits has been in development globally since the late 2010s, evolving from theory and experimentation to the more recent implementation of both deposit tokens and tokenized deposits. Tokenizing commercial bank deposits has implications for other blockchain-based payment instruments, such as stablecoins, as well as for legacy payments systems, presenting banks with new opportunities and challenges.
Briefing
What Consumer Surveys Say about the Design of a U.S. CBDC for Retail Payments
Although researchers continue to discuss the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for retail payments in the United States, the success of a CBDC will depend on consumer adoption. To understand how a CBDC could provide a good user experience, recent surveys in the United States and in other countries have asked consumers about their wants and needs for a potential CBDC. In the United States, a majority of respondents to these surveys seek dependability, convenience, and security.
Briefing
Observations from the Retail CBDCs of the Caribbean
Three retail central bank digital currencies (rCBDCs) have been issued in the Caribbean, but thus far all have struggled to achieve expected adoption from both consumers and merchants. The efforts to launch these rCDBCs offer three takeaways: 1) the underlying technologies of rCBDCs may have little effect on adoption; 2) an rCBDC may need to demonstrate value added to entice consumers to use it; and 3) an rCBDC platform may need to be integrated into the larger financial ecosystem to be widely adopted.
Briefing
Cash Bill Pay Services and Payment Inclusion in the United States
Cash bill pay, a service that allows consumers to pay bills with cash at participating retailers, may be one way to promote payment inclusion in the increasingly digitized U.S. economy. With this service, consumers who prefer to use cash, or those without a transaction account, can have in-person, tangible experiences paying bills.