The Bank of International Settlements gives three foundational principles for central banks considering whether to issue CBDC, that flow from their common mandates for monetary and financial stability.
Do no harm
CBDC should continue to fulfil public policy objectives and not interfere with or impede a central bank’s ability to carry out its mandate for monetary or financial stability.
Coexistence
CBDC should coexist with cash and robust private money.
Innovation and efficiency
CBDC should drive innovation and efficiency in a jurisdiction’s payment system (which includes public and private participants).
To enable these foundational principles of CBDC to be realised in practice, nChain has three additional considerations that build on top of the Bank of International Settlements principles.
Data integrity
The history of CBDC transactions should be immutable; not able to be changed by any party for any reason. Corrective transactions should only occur as new entries to the ledger.
Programmability
Users should be empowered to exchange and interface with CBDC using a flexible scripting language that can automatically execute operations, such as enforcing terms and conditions and enabling smart contracts.
Privacy
User privacy should be protected. Users should have the opportunity to own and control their data and see who also has read access to their fields and metadata.
At nChain, we are working with central banks to research and design a truly more resilient, trusted and inclusive modern economy, securing the livelihoods and prosperity of citizens for generations to come.
Interested to learn more about CBDCs? Download the Playbook or sign up to be the first to know about our CBDC Masterclass below.
CBDC Playbook
This 40-page comprehensive guide will help you understand how CBDC programs can be designed and implemented, and some of the key questions that need to be addressed to help ensure a successful CBDC implementation.
CBDC Masterclass Series
The nChain CBDC Tech Masterclass Series aims to provide both foundational principles, expert opinion and lively discussion around the technical considerations of CBDC and creating a more resilient payments system for all.