Central Bank Digital Currencies and a Euro for the Future

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have grasped the interest of central banks, policy makers, regulators, industry, and the general public, especially over the past year. The number of central banks actively engaging in CBDCs in one way or another, has increased from one third in 2018, to almost 90% as of March 2021. This report aims to provide a foundational understanding of CBDCs, the factors that necessitate their issuance, and an overview of the events leading up to relevant initiatives, public tests and live implementations. We focus on a European CBDC (henceforth also referred to as the ‘digital euro’) to explore the design space of its possible future implementation.