Global fintech company, Bitt, and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) have been announced as one of 15 finalists for the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Global CBDC Challenge to develop and showcase retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) solutions. Bitt and Stellar together aim to provide a complete solution that permits central banks to issue a digital currency, manage it, and safely enable transactions utilizing it on a public network, all while dictating the functionality and providing interoperability of the CBDC with other assets.
Bitt’s market-proven Digital Currency Management System (DCMS) encompasses a core monetary transaction network, a secure minting system, and a Digital Currency Operations Manager for the monetary authority. Bitt has built its DCMS to integrate with the leading blockchain transaction networks.
As part of this submission, the Bitt DCMS will be integrated with the Stellar network, which provides asset issuers like central banks certainty, safety, and control with respect to their digital currency, as well as the openness and interoperability of a permissionless network that fosters innovation and competition. By running Bitt’s DCMS on Stellar, Bitt is able to offer a complete solution for monetary authorities to issue CBDCs, while also allowing monetary authorities to continue to leverage their current financial ecosystem and avoid the need for new complex integrations. With a large number of fiat-backed assets already in use on its network, Stellar is well-positioned to be the public network of choice for the issuance of CBDCs.
The competition received over 300 submissions from more than 50 countries. Participants were invited to address 12 problem statements relating to: CBDC instruments; CBDC distribution; and CBDC infrastructure; covering topics such as inclusivity, interoperability and programmability.
The finalists were selected by an independent panel of esteemed judges, comprising policy and technical experts, as well as academia and senior representatives of intergovernmental organizations, including the Bank for International Settlements, the World Bank, and the UN International Computing Centre.
After the announcement was published, Chief Executive Officer of Bitt, Brian Popelka, commented, “We are very proud and humbled to have our work with Stellar and our digital currency product selected by judges from among the reputable organizations in our industry. Bitt looks forward to continued partnerships and successes as we support central banks and financial institutions in their transition into the digital economy.”
SDF CEO and Executive Director, Denelle Dixon, said, “The Stellar network was designed for asset issuance and interoperability. These features coupled with built-in compliance tools make it uniquely suited for CBDCs. The Bitt and Stellar Development Foundation team bring deep expertise to the Challenge. We are excited to develop and refine a retail CBDC solution that will address the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s needs and help to expand financial access.”
All 15 finalists, comprising financial institutions, fintech companies, and technology solution providers, will progress to the Acceleration Phase of the Global CBDC Challenge, before they present their live solutions to a panel of judges and an international audience at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2021.