Central Bank Digital Currency Research Articles

Central Bank Digital Currency: Welfare and Policy Implications

A model of multiple means of payment is constructed to analyze the effects of the introduction of central bank digital currency (CBDC). The introduction of CBDC has three beneficial effects. It mitigates crime associated with physical currency, permits the payment of interest on a key central bank liability, and economizes on scarce safe collateral. CBDC admits another instrument of monetary policy, but may require that the central bank take on private assets in its portfolio if CBDC significantly displaces privately supplied means of payment.

A game between central banks and households involving central bank digital currencies, other digital currencies and negative interest rates

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) enable negative interest rates. A game is analyzed between a central bank (accounting for the government’s interest) and a representative household choosing to consume, hold CBDC, or hold non-CBDC. The central bank chooses negative interest rate when it realizes that the household is willing to pay the central bank for holding CBDC. The household pays the negative interest rate because of its Cobb Douglas preferences whereby it values holding CBDC while simultaneously holding the competitive non-CBDC with a given interest rate, consuming with various output elasticities, and accounting for transaction efficiencies and costs. More explicitly, intuition and how the players benefit are provided for the following results: The central bank chooses more negative interest rate when the household’s output elasticity for consumption increases, the household’s output elasticity for holding CBDC decreases, the CBDC and non-CBDC transaction efficiencies increase, the household’s transaction efficiency for consumption decreases, the household’s scaling of the transaction cost increases, the scaling parameter for the central bank’s profit per household decreases, the household’s monetary energy decreases, and the non-CBDC interest rate decreases. The results are determined analytically and illustrated numerically where each of nine parameter values is varied relative to a benchmark.

CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY UNDER THE STATE THEORY OF MONEY: A PRELIMINARY LEGAL ANALYSIS

Innovations in digital payments have triggered many central banks to apprehend and consider central bank digital currency (CBDC). CBDC is believed to be the next milestone in the evolution of money because many studies have shown the significant advantages of using government-issued digital currency. However, to function as money, CBDC must fulfil the fundamental role of money, among others, contended by the state theory of money. This paper addresses the applicability of the state theory of money to CBDC as digital money, which is prefaced by the discussion on money as legal tender and the theory of sovereign power over money. After analysing these theories, this paper offers a preliminary legal analysis of CBDC, mainly from the perspective of Indonesian law. This paper concludes that the concept of CBDC as money and legal tender may fulfil the notion of money under the state theory of money and can serve as legal tender. Applying this theory to CBDC and assuming CBDC is used as legal tender, the State should create a legal framework to regulate CBDC as a valid medium of exchange and legal tender. However, it is also acknowledged that various designs of CBDC must be supported by different legal environments. Furthermore, this paper recommends the preparation of an Indonesian legal ecosystem for CBDC, consisting of a solid regulatory framework and clear legal relationships among relevant parties, that are needed to ensure the legality of the issuance, distribution and transference of CBDC once the design of CBDC is determined. Furthermore, to accommodate the use of CBDC, a thorough assessment of the relevant Indonesian laws should be undertaken relating, among other factors, to the central bank, money, currency, and technology.

How does the fintech sector react to signals from central bank digital currencies?

This study analyzes how the fintech sector reacts to central bank digital currency (CBDC) signals released by central banks. First, we innovatively construct a signal index for the CBDC. Second, by collecting data from January 2012 to February 2022, the positively time-varying response of the fintech sector to the CBDC signals is found. Meanwhile, the response intensity reduces over time, thereby reflecting the weakening sensibility of the fintech sector to the CBDC signals. Third, shocks of symbolic events regarding the CBDC in the fintech sector are captured to further confirm the response to signals.

Central bank digital currencies: From design to issuance and distribution — A case study of China’s sovereign digital currency

There has been an increasing volume of research and discussion on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) over the last four to five years, but no central bank of a sovereign country has been able to launch its national digital currency on a large scale. This paper uses China’s national digital currency (digital currency electronic payment, DCEP) as a case study to explore the growing pains of launching a new digital currency. Our findings reveal that central banks need to design CBDCs with an eye to not only technological innovations but also business values and priorities that underpin monetary policies and operations of their country, together with effective circulation of money flows in the economy. This paper proposes three innovations: first, it shows the difference between digital wallets and bank accounts and sets different real-name authentication requirements for the respective users. Second, it suggests replacing the existing ‘know your customer’ with a ‘know your coin’, thus protecting user privacy and commercial viability while satisfying the Anti-Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements. Third, a 1+M+N operating mechanism is recommended to substitute DCEP’s existing two-tier operating mechanism, and the justification is provided.

Towards Central Bank Digital Currencies in Asia and the Pacific

Towards Central Bank Digital Currencies in Asia and the Pacific

Central Bank Digital Currency: Scenarios of Implementation and Potential Consequences for Monetary System

Abstract Computerization of social life enabled market participants to search for new forms of electronic payments. The share of cash in total payments is systematically decreasing, which poses the risk of being supplanted by other instruments, including cryptocurrencies. Central banks, therefore, faced the challenge of adjusting their issuing activities to the current social and market conditions, which resulted in the emergence of the concept and discussion of the introduction of digital cash. The purpose of this paper is to examine the abovementioned issues and indication of potential scenarios for the introduction of central bank digital currency with an indication of potential consequences for the banking sector. The thesis of this paper is the following statement: The emergence of digital money of the central bank may significantly change the nature of commercial banks’ activities - including potentially eliminating their role in issuing cashless money.

Artificial intelligence (AI) from a regulator’s perspective: The future of AI in central banking and financial services

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unlocking enormous opportunities. For central banks, AI has the potential to enhance regulatory efficiency and improve the data basis for monetary policy decisions. Machine learning (ML) can provide comprehensive, instant, granular information to complement existing macroeconomic indicators as well as having the capability to analyse big data efficiently, which can facilitate monetary policy decisions. As countries and companies conduct AI research and deploy the technology to the public, several financial authorities have recently begun developing frameworks, outlining their expectations on AI governance and use by financial institutions. This paper illustrates the current advancements in ML techniques and highlights the future trends in the adoption of AI by central banks and companies in financial services. It looks at the use of cloud computing and ML by companies and regulators to develop cost-efficient automation tools that better understand user needs, and presents how this will likely enable companies to adapt to rising trends in customer expectation in the future. The paper also explores the growing use of AI in anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, blockchain technology, and the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).

Transactional Network Analysis and Money Laundering Behavior Identification of Central Bank Digital Currency of China

With the gradual application of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in China, it brings new payment methods, but also potentially derives new money laundering paths. Two typical application scenarios of CBDC are considered, namely the anonymous transaction scenario and real-name transaction scenario. First, starting from the interaction network of transactional groups, the degree distribution, density, and modularity of normal and money laundering transactions in two transaction scenarios are compared and analyzed, so as to clarify the characteristics and paths of money laundering transactions. Then, according to the two typical application scenarios, different transaction datasets are selected, and different models are used to train the models on the recognition of money laundering behaviors in the two datasets. Among them, in the anonymous transaction scenario, the graph convolutional neural network is used to identify the spatial structure, the recurrent neural network is fused to obtain the dynamic pattern, and the model ChebNet-GRU is constructed. The constructed ChebNet-GRU model has the best effect in the recognition of money laundering behavior, with a precision of 94.3%, a recall of 59.5%, an F1 score of 72.9%, and a micro-average F1 score of 97.1%. While in the real-name transaction scenario, the traditional machine learning method is far better than the deep learning method, and the micro-average F1 score of the random forest and XGBoost models both reach 99.9%, which can effectively identify money laundering in currency transactions.

Mapping the Privacy Landscape for Central Bank Digital Currencies

As central banks all over the world move to digitize cash, the issue of privacy needs to move to the forefront. The path taken may depend on the needs of each stakeholder group: privacy-conscious users, data holders, and law enforcement.

Digital currency and payment innovation in the hospitality and tourism industry

This paper examined the acceptance of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a payment method in the hospitality and tourism sectors. The characteristics of CBDC payment were discussed and the five-stage consumer adoption model served as a framework for advancing our knowledge about individuals’ adoption process of payment innovation. In addition, this study involved consumer innovativeness as a moderating factor in the formation of consumer adoption behavior. Based on 423 responses collected from self-administrated online survey, we conducted the structural equation modeling analysis and metric invariance test. The proposed model, which incorporates innovation characteristics and the consumer adoption process, properly predicted consumer acceptance toward CBDC payment in buying hospitality and tourism products. Furthermore, the identified moderating role of consumer innovativeness in the relationships, such as one between interest and evaluation, and the other between evaluation and trial intention promoted a better understanding of the consumer adoption behavior toward payment innovation.

Türkiye’de Merkez Bankası Dijital Parasının Potansiyel Etkileri: SWOT Analiziyle Bir Değerlendirme

Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası 15 Eylül 2021 tarihli basın duyurusunda Tübitak, Aselsan ve Havelsan ile birlikte “Dijital Türk Lirası İşbirliği Platformu” oluşturduğunu ilan etmiştir. Bu çalışmada henüz tasarım aşamasında olan merkez bankası dijital parasının (CBDC) Türkiye ekonomisi üzerindeki potansiyel etkileri SWOT Analizi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı Dijital Türk lirasının, Türkiye ekonomisiyle ilgili veriler bağlamında güçlü/zayıf yönlerini tespit etmek, CBDC’ye yönelik olası fırsat ve tehditleri tartışmaktır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre finansal kesimin tasarımına dahil olduğu “optimum” Dijital Türk Lirası, finansal sistemin verimliliğini ve güvenliğini pozitif etkileyecektir. Teknik altyapının zayıflığı ve TCMB başta olmak üzere finansal sistemin “yetersiz” dönüşümü, CBDC’nin genel kabul görmesini engelleyebilecek faktörlerdir. CBDC ihracıyla birlikte hayata geçirilen kurumsal reformlar, para politikasının etkinliğini arttırabilir ve finansal kapsayıcılığın genişlemesiyle TCMB, “özel ödeme sistemleri” karşısında rekabet üstünlüğü kazanabilir. Bankacılık sektörünün CBDC karşısındaki “olumsuz tutumunun” ve toplum nezdinde oluşabilecek dijital veri mahremiyetiyle ilgili kaygıların Dijital Türk Lirasına yönelik ciddi tehditler olduğunu savunuyoruz. CBDC tasarımına ve bankacılık kesiminin konumuna bağlı olarak güçlü yönler zayıf yönlere, fırsatlar tehditlere dönüşebilir. Bu nedenle CBDC tasarım çalışmalarının bankacılık kesimiyle ortak yürütülmesini bir politika önerisi olarak öne sürüyoruz.

AML by design: Designing a central bank digital currency to stifle money laundering

This article explores how technical central bank digital currency (CBDC) design choices can be used to make a CBDC inherently resistant to money laundering. These design choices not only further anti-money laundering (AML), but they can also help to better balance AML priorities with other goals including financial inclusion, privacy and compliance costs. Moreover, CBDCs provide an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of different design choices in real time. These measurements can facilitate the iterative redesign of CBDCs to identify optimal approaches to meeting regulatory objectives

Central bank digital currency: Advising the financial services industry

The teaching case focuses on central bank digital currency, or CBDC, which would be a new kind of government-issued digital currency. Currently, money already flows around the world through electronic circuits. Private/non-government digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies are decentralised, unregulated and highly volatile. Unlike the private digital money, CBDC would be centralised and controlled digital money. CBDC would provide a stable means of exchange amongst the citizens and businesses as it would be controlled by the central bank and backed by the government. CBDC could be programmed, transferred and traced more easily and at a lower cost. Through this case, students will get the opportunity to understand the advantages, risks and challenges of CBDC and how CBDC is different from the existing digital currencies such as Bitcoin, stable-coins and Diem. The efficient integration of CBDC with existing banking and payment systems to ensure flawless operations is a vital success factor for a country to embrace CBDC. The digital system’s simplified administrative and regulatory requirements will also assist governments in significantly lowering operational and technology maintenance expenses. At the same time, a CBDC could threaten the commercial banks, allowing the government to communicate directly with CBDC holders. Through this case, students will learn about different models that can be used to implement and integrate the CBDC system.

Digital Currencies and Monetary Policy in the New Era

The centuries-old financial structure and the modern financial system are built on physical currencies. After the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, along with the introduction of all-new cryptocurrencies and stable coins, even many central banks have voiced an interest in the introduction of digital currencies. Hence, the pros and cons of the new central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are the newest widely discussed topic. This paper focuses on the ways a new instrument, central bank digital currency (CBDC), is expected to improve the modern payment systems, increase the efficacy of monetary policy and ensure financial stability in the new era. The study concludes that although CBDCs might boost monetary policy effectiveness and financial stability, it is vital to reevaluate and thoroughly analyse the geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geostrategic implications and effects of having a CBDC.

National Digital Currency Issuance Under Vietnamese Law

The article analyzes the current situation and debates about the digital currencies issued by central bank. The results show that only a few countries have issued the central bank digital currencies, the rest of the countries have begun to have institutional orientations for research on issuing and using the central bank digital currency. The strengths that lead to the central bank's choice of research and issuance of digital currency are a high level of security, convenience for money control in circulation, and the stable value guaranteed by the state, thereby contributing to the promotion of non-cash payments. In the context of accelerating the economy digitization, including digital banking, and promoting the cash payments, Vietnam has had an orientation to research mechanisms, policies and laws for the issuance of national digital currency. In order to do this, in addition to reviewing, amending and supplementing the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam related to currency issuance, it is also necessary to prepare fully the technical infrastructure system.

A Comparative Study of the Design Frameworks of the Ghanaian and Nigerian Central Banks’ Digital Currencies (CBDC)

This paper discusses critical considerations in the design of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in West Africa through a comparative case study of Ghana’s (eCedi) and Nigeria’s (eNaira) design frameworks. This paper analyses CBDC design options framed through context (digital payment landscape and CBDC objectives), technical aspects (design principles, architecture, risks), use cases, and deployment plans. This study conducted a thematic analysis of official CBDC design documents to identify similarities, differences, and patterns. The results indicate more similarities between the eCedi and eNaira designs than differences. Differences were observed in the CBDC deployment context, risk profiles, and plans. Surprisingly, neither country has articulated the detailed legal and regulatory environments for CBDC. This paper highlights the use of CBDC designs to promote citizens’ welfare by using financially inclusive policy goals within central banking’s welfare functions, thereby extending their traditional role. Policymakers should focus on adaptive legal and policy design outlooks to address uncertainties associated with CBDC. This paper is important because it is one of the first to contribute to a detailed comparison of Ghana and Nigeria’s CBDC design frameworks.

Central Bank Digital Currencies: Agendas for future research

We use the bibliometric and content analysis of 174 documents retrieved from the Scopus database to present the publication trends in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) since 2018 and highlight the top publishing source with the most contributing authors in their affiliated countries. While showing influential studies, important themes covered to date, and the intellectual structure of the CBDC literature, we present recent research trends, gaps, and future research agendas in this domain. Research curiosity on the systematical framework, significance, and structural implication of CBDC as a structural shift in the digitization of the monetary system are major propellants. CBDCs have far-reaching implications for monetary and payment systems, and their development could pave the way for a global common currency. Researchers are making significant efforts to investigate how CBDCs are linked to international trade and assets, particularly cryptocurrencies. There is much room for theoretical development, contextual coverage, and methodology contributions.

Central Bank Digital Currencies: To issue, or not to issue, that is the question- Legal and Economic Implications in the EU and, the Albanian Perspective

This research paper aims to serve as an added value to enrich the literature regarding the Central Banks Digital Currency and all its possible implications impacting the financial system. Our focus is on analysing CBDC from different perspectives, by analysing the motivations and concerns that lead countries with different economic conditions to introduce for their public this innovation as well as, to analyse the implications it poses due to significant fields of banking sector at whole, in terms of commercial banks, monetary policy of central bank or all the spikes that may happen in financial stability. The imminent allocation of crypto currencies has been the catalyst which has prompted Central Banks of various countries in Europe and beyond, to launch complex studies focusing on the implementation of macroeconomic policies in the context of digital currency issued by Central Banks. In prima facie overview, this process will be accompanied by various challenges, ascertained these challenges in the economic field but also in the legal one. This research paper, inter alia, aims to analyse the legal regulatory framework at the level of the European Union, taking into account the potential implications, material and procedural difficulties as well as, the economic effects that may derive from the issuance of digital currency issued by Central Banks. Along with analysation of EU legal framework in this research paper shall be analysed also the perspective of the Republic of Albania, as a candidate country for membership in the European Union which has the obligation to harmonize legislation with the aquis communiter.

Central Bank Digital Currencies: Motives, Economic Implications, and the Research Frontier

In just a few years, central banks have rapidly ramped up their research and development efforts on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). A growing body of economic research informs these activities, often focusing on the “reserves for all” aspect of CBDCs for retail use. However, CBDCs should be considered in the full context of the digital economy and the centrality of data, which raises concerns around competition, payment system integrity, and privacy. This review gives a guided tour of the growing CBDC literature on the microeconomic considerations related to operation architectures, technologies, and privacy as well as the macroeconomic implications for the financial system, financial stability, and monetary policy. A set of questions, particularly on the cross-border dimensions of CBDCs, remains unresolved and calls for further work to expand the research frontier.