The Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced the results of the Global Central Bank Digital Currency Challenge at the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF).
The Global CBDC Challenge has helped to identify and develop retail CBDC solutions that increase payment efficiencies, improve financial inclusion and support the broader digitalisation drive in the economy.
After five months of intense competition among more than 300 submissions from over 50 countries, three winners were selected for their innovative solutions that best addressed the policy objectives of the challenge. The winners were selected from 15 finalists who pitched their solutions at a Demo Day to an international panel of judges. The three top winners each received a cash prize of S$50,000.
The CBDCgo solution (by ConsenSys and Visa) provides integration and coexistence with existing systems, along with security and accessibility. Users can spend CBDCs without needing to change their payment or acceptance network. The Atomic CBDC solution (by Criteo) is a digital currency platform that is safeguarded by hardware-based security. It supports anonymity and privacy for small transactions and offers traceability for large transactions for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism purposes. G+D Filia (Giesecke+Devrient advance52 GmbH) provides a means of payment that is inclusive and enables participation in the digital economy without a smartphone or a bank account.
