Central bank digital currencies: the historical view, techologies and perspectives

Abstract

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) can be considered as a digital form of central bank money denominated in the national unit of account that is a direct liability of the central bank. CBDC essentially differs from other forms of digital or virtual currencies, including cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and “stablecoins”, which are not issued by central banks or typically considered legal tender. Although the phenomenon of CBDC has been partly characterized in academic papers, the aim of the paper is to show the complex view on CBDC through the prism of historical perspective and to propose the main directions of further CBDCs development. The research methods used in this paper are comprehensive literature analysis, scientific abstraction, comparative analysis. The paper concentrates mostly on intrinsic nature of CBDC and presents the results of historical analysis of monetary and payment systems trends, the overview of CBDC types and tools, and the experience of most advanced CBDC projects. The findings may help financial institutions to make proper decisions on the different CBDC types, improve their approaches to digital technologies and form more active many-sided cooperation. A proposed logical framework of the analysis might be useful for the conducting similar studies.