Bitcoin Daily: Sony Launches Digital Asset Wallet; UK Shelves Digital Gold Plan

The Royal Mint in the U.K. has put plans for a digital gold token called Royal Mint Gold (RMG) on hold, Reuters reported. That news comes after a planned relationship with CME fell through and the U.K. government nixed the idea of having the coins trade on a digital currency exchange. The Mint said, according to Reuters, “Sadly, due to market conditions, this did not prove possible at this time, but we will revisit this if and when market conditions are right.”

In other news, Sony Computer Science Laboratories (CSL) has unveiled a digital asset hardware wallet that is contactless, Cryptovest reported. The wallet uses encrypted communication as well as mutual authentication, which Sony CSL said makes it safer. Through a statement, the company said, the “hardware wallet is small, portable and useful, unlike typical existing hardware wallets that connect to PCs via USB.”

IBM, along with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), said in a survey that 54 percent of central banks noted that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) “can be used to improve the speed, efficiency and resilience of cross-border payments,” according to a press release. In addition, the organizations noted that “all respondents” viewed smart contracts optimistically, as they give central banks “flexibility in payment and settlement processes.” Survey respondents included the Bank of Finland, the Banco Central do Brasil and the South African Reserve Bank.

On another note, Freigeist and Neufund have asked for lawmakers to take on regulatory uncertainty around digital currency and blockchain investments, Cryptovest reported. That lack of guidance could hamper the country’s digital opportunities, they claimed. Neufund CEO Zoe Adamovicz and Freigeist VC Founder and Tech Investor Frank Thelen wrote in a blog post, “ If institutional watchdogs, such as the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), do not have clear guidance from political bodies in place, they will not be able to execute their responsibilities. And if watchdogs do not know how to act, how can we expect that from entrepreneurs and investors?”