What is CBDC?
CBDC is a legal tender digital payment device issued and endorsed directly by the country’s central bank. Money transfers could be done directly between the participating parties in real-time, rather than relying on third-party middlemen such as banks and other companies.
According to blockchain specialists and technocrats, is a new payment system that has the potential to improve payment efficiency while lowering costs. It provides greater direct control over the money supply than indirect measures and paves the path for a full reserve banking system.
REASON BEHIND THE GROWING TREND OF CBDC?
-Central banks in developing market economies are moving faster than central banks in rich countries to developing CBDCs. In addition, the tech cold war was sparked by the US and China competing to launch their respective CBDCs. The topic of this technology competition was even brought up in front of the United States Senate.
A MAJOR BOOST FOR FINANCIAL SYSTEM: CBDCs are critical for the advancement of the financial system because they can increase bank balances, dramatically alter traditional finance, reconfigure global markets, and change our conceptions of money and how we use it by substituting currency.
A FUTURE CURRENCY: CBDC is a blessing because its creation emphasizes the critical role blockchain technology will play in constructing tomorrow’s future. Countries are recognizing the need to construct a genuinely digital future that overcomes global order shortages as a catalyst for blockchain development.
COVID -19 IMPACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the effectiveness of CBDCs, and central banks and other institutions are looking for methods to better serve individuals and give equal access to the financial system, which is a significant improvement. She went on to say that in 2021, central banks would apply what they had learned in 2020 and begin implementing CBDCs.
HOW ARE THEY AFFECTING CRYPTO SPACE
PRIVACY: The privacy issue has been around for quite some time, and there has yet to be a single answer. On the one hand, huge technology companies have so much data under their control that the government has been unable to regulate them due to a lack of policy. Privacy technology, on the other hand, has struggled to develop breakthrough technologies that preserve individual privacy.
The last recourse for global central banks to protect their influence in society and the old scramble financial system is to launch their own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Cryptocurrency has demonstrated some strength in terms of protecting privacy, but it does not protect individuals against illegitimacy.
CENTRALISED: Centralized doesn’t just mean one entity to issue types of money but one entity to control the information channel. When money is digitalized, you send money through a single channel to directly reach the user. The danger is the end-user has to directly explore himself or herself to such a powerful entity. Such entities can directly abuse their power to such individuals. Being privately operated gives them an ace over the others as the regulation and security are more in this regard.
WELL BACKED: Stablecoin acceptance as a reliable and accepted medium of exchange may be limited as a result of such failures. Considering the case of gold-backed stablecoins to better understand the challenges that occur with cryptocurrencies. Should one buy actual gold coins or bullion instead of stablecoins? These concerns raise serious reservations about the use of cryptocurrency.
CBDC holds a very promising future in the years to come. People would prefer CBDC over a bank account because central bank digital currencies are not vulnerable to risk. Moreover, the removal of that risk would not only be advantageous to citizens but to the economy as well.