Bank for International Settlements Report on Central Bank Digital Currencies

The Bank for International Settlements, together with seven central banks (Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Sveriges Riksbank, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England and Board of Governors Federal Reserve System) has released a report on the principles and core features of central bank digital currencies. The central banks concerned do not give any opinions on whether they intend to issue CBDCs. Instead, the report sets out three key principles for a hypothetical CBDC, namely: (i) that it should do no harm to central banks' public policy objectives or interfere with financial stability; (ii) that it should complement existing forms of central bank money; and (iii) that it should promote innovation and efficiency, to deter users from adopting other, less safe instruments or currencies.  
 
The report also describes core features of CBDCs and discusses next steps in the BIS/central bank group's investigations, which will include:
 

• Exploring further the practical implications of the CBDC core features described in the report and the practical challenges for cross-border transfers of domestic CBDCs;
• Further technological experiments that may enable cross-border transactions between domestic CBDCs;
• Continued domestic outreach efforts to encourage dialogue on CBDCs between jurisdictions.

View the BIS's report on CBDCs.

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