The Truth Behind Governments Adopting Central Bank Digital Currency

Everyone is curious to know what the world will look like in the future. Hold on if you thought of flying cars and robots! There are other fascinating technological developments to consider, like digitalizing paper money. Digital currency is not a newly generated term, as we became familiar with it a long time ago. The full implementation of this term will be brand new to the world. The use of programmable CBDC, or federal digital currencies, is typical, and prominent businesspeople are using it all around the world.

To jump on the bandwagon, governments issued Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) at a time when cryptocurrencies are halfway to dominating paper currency. Regardless of the government’s intentions behind its adoption, programmable CBDC will advance economic development in the nations where it is used.

CBDCs and Economic Development 

Even though it might seem huge, the economic system will evolve when the government issues CBDC. This evolution will take the country’s financial system to the future. The main difference between CBDCs and paper currency is that they circulate virtually. Several countries are developing programmable CBDCs, some have already started implementing them, and others are rejecting the idea. Given that so many countries are still experimenting with digital programmable currencies, it’s essential to understand what they are and their benefits. 

CBDC has unique benefits such as safety, finality, liquidity, and integrity. As businesses move to digital platforms, these advantages must continue to benefit our economies. In certain circumstances, such as those where geography prevents physical banking, a programmable CBDC might be an essential step toward financial inclusion. In other cases, CBDC might serve as a vital backup when other payment methods don’t work. One such example was when, last year, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank expanded its CBDC pilot to include areas affected by a volcanic eruption. Companies and consumers need privacy, transferability, convenience, accessibility, and financial security, which is why CBDCs are primarily designed to offer these benefits.

This indicates that CBDCs which is the most stable digital currency may lower the price of international transactions, lessen the upkeep required for a complex financial system, and provide more affordable options to people using other money transfer methods. It also enables a nation’s central bank to carry out monetary policies that promote stability, restrain economic growth, and affect inflation. 

Hidden Agenda or Innocent Game? 

There are concerns about what benefits the federal government would receive from issuing the CBDC. Governments claim that developing digital currency initiative enables central banks to conduct international trade without relying on the US dollar. They believe uncontrolled digital money plays a big part in promoting criminal activity and makes tax evasion and avoidance easier.

It’s an all-set answer to avoid admitting the competition loudly and open closed doors on themselves. This cold war between tech giants and the government is secretly played. Governments worldwide have recently sped up the creation of a CBDC for a variety of reasons. One of the obvious reasons is to compete over the authority with private digital currencies. For example, In China, most of the existing economic system is owned by private companies issuing digital currencies. They forced the government to level up its game and create a new platform payment system that includes issuing a new digital currency, the yuan. 

Therefore, central banks issued their digital currencies for governments to take the lead before tech giants do. Therefore, a tech company needs to have the authority that a digital dollar would grant to federal agencies.

CBDCs and Crypto Competing

No matter how much power you have over the population, if they aren’t spending your money, you have a severe problem. Crypto is a digital form of money, and the government has no authority over it. They use a decentralized system to track transactions and create new units rather than a central body to issue or regulate them. Whereas CBDCs are the government’s attempt to protect its privileged position, exert more control, and gain authority over crypto. The primary distinction between a programmable CBDC and a decentralized digital currency is the central entity controlling the currency.

However, the competition between these two currencies is based on achieving lead. Governments believe that money plays a big part in criminal activity and makes tax evasion and avoidance easier. A war on cash is being waged by promoting and monitoring digital transactions. Governments like to keep an eye on the public, which is a way to implement economic policy.

How will Digital Currency Affect Banks

Pressure on central banks to create their digital currencies is increasing due to the emergence of cryptocurrencies and payment systems. Governments decided to issue digital currency because they are concerned about losing control over the monetary policies that central banks use to monitor inflation and financial stability. 

Several people in the cryptocurrency industry expressed concern when China revealed its plans to introduce the digital yuan. China could use its digital yuan as a tool for mass surveillance to track each transaction made by people if it forced CBDC adoption. Each digital currency transaction will leave a trail that the government can access. Programmable CBDCs are designed to give people a regulated and secure way to exchange, store, and use money digitally. They can also coexist with physical currencies. The government’s interest in CBDCs is partially a response to cryptocurrencies’ explosive growth. They also have a clear interest in regulating it because they aren’t governed by monetary policy.

Final Thoughts

As technology advances and people become accustomed to solving issues virtually, paper money will need to change. Each economy is unique, so there isn’t a single argument favoring CBDCs. Since the economic system depends on the flow of money, it must continue to be managed by public institutions. They must also focus on public policy rather than private profit. It will be interesting to see to what extent the conflict between cryptocurrencies and CBDCs will reach. When is digital currency coming? Will digital currency replace the U.S dollar? All the technological advancement makes this dilemma a puzzle that only time can solve. 

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