
Rise of the CBDCs: drivers, approaches and technologies
Rise of the central bank digital currencies:
drivers, approaches and technologies
∗
Raphael Auer,
♦
Giulio Cornelli
♦
and Jon Frost
♦
†
Abstract
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are receiving more attention than ever before.
Yet the motivations for issuance vary across countries, as do the policy approaches
and technical designs. We investigate the economic and institutional drivers of CBDC
development and take stock of design efforts. We set out a comprehensive database
of technical approaches and policy stances on issuance, relying on central bank
speeches and technical reports. Most projects are found in digitised economies with
a high capacity for innovation. Work on retail CBDCs is more advanced where the
informal economy is larger. We next take stock of the technical design options. More
and more central banks are considering retail CBDC architectures in which the CBDC
is a direct cash-like claim on the central bank, but where the private sector handles
all customer-facing activity. We conclude with an in-depth description of three
distinct CBDC approaches by the central banks of China, Sweden and Canada.
Keywords: central bank digital currency, CBDC, central banking, digital currency,
digital money, distributed ledger technology, blockchain.
JEL classifications: E58, G21.
∗
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank
for International Settlements. For comments and input, we thank David Archer, Douglas Arner,
Codruta Boar, Haiwei Cao, Stijn Claessens, Carl-Andreas Claussen, Sebastian Doerr, Umar Faruqui,
Leonardo Gambacorta, Philippe Haene, Henry Holden, Martin Hood, Linda Jeng, Taejin Park, Mateo
Piccolo, Martin Summer, Tara Rice, Amber Wadsworth, Hye-Rim Yoo, Nouran Youssef, Dirk Zetzsche
and participants at a BIS research meeting, an Arab Monetary Fund Fintech Working Group meeting
and a meeting of the OECD Experts Group on Finance and Digitalisation. We thank Mu Changchun,
Lyu Yuan, Scott Hendry, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Dinesh Shah, Gabriela Guibourg, Martin Johansson
and Stig Johansson for conversations regarding the CBDC approaches of the People’s Bank of China,
Bank of Canada and Sveriges Riksbank.
♦
Bank for International Settlements (BIS),
†
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF).
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