Central Bank Digital Currencies: Evolution and Implications to the Monetary System

Abstract

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are the newest entrants to the financial landscape. Widely backed by Central Banks around the globe, CBDCs offer unique characteristics and novel solutions to the existing gaps in the monetary system. Nevertheless, potential dangers like infringement on personal liberties cannot be overlooked while adopting a new system with broad implications. Introduction of CBDCs exposes the government's necessity to retain the 'trust' in its institutions amidst emerging financial innovations in the private space. An honest scrutiny of the positives and negatives of the proposed system would contribute to designing a better monetary policy tool while mitigating risks. Although individuals stand to reap some benefits, governments would gain excessively from a mass CBDC adoption, if implemented. Therefore, civil society must play an active role in designing the technical specifications of the proposed CBDCs. A CBDC should be designed to maximise the policy goals without parting with individual privacy and personal liberties.