英格兰银行-2020英国央行数字货币（CBDC）研究报告（英文）-2020.3-57页_1mb

Summary of the Discussion Paper on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

Core Content

This discussion paper by the Bank of England explores the concept of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), focusing on its potential opportunities and challenges for the UK financial system and economy. It outlines the Bank's approach to designing CBDC, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of its economic and technological implications, as well as its role in the broader payments landscape.

Main Viewpoints

• CBDC as a new form of central bank money: CBDC would be an electronic form of money issued by the Bank of England, available to households and businesses, unlike current electronic central bank money (reserves), which are only accessible to financial institutions.
• CBDC as a complement to cash and deposits: CBDC would not replace cash or commercial bank deposits, but rather coexist with them, providing an additional means of payment and value storage.
• CBDC is not equivalent to cryptocurrencies: While CBDC is a digital form of money, it is fundamentally different from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are not backed by a central authority and often lack stability and universal acceptance.
• CBDC could be a digital banknote: CBDC may be viewed as a digital version of physical banknotes, but its final design could include additional features such as programmability and smart contracts.
• CBDC could support monetary and financial stability: It has the potential to enhance the resilience and efficiency of the UK payments system, support innovation, and offer a secure, risk-free alternative to privately issued money.
• CBDC introduces policy and technological challenges: These include risks to the banking system, monetary policy implementation, and the need for a robust regulatory framework to manage anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and sanctions compliance.
• CBDC design is a multi-step process: The Bank outlines a structured approach involving understanding opportunities and challenges, defining objectives and design principles, designing the CBDC system, and selecting the appropriate technology.

Key Information

1. What is CBDC?

• CBDC is an electronic form of central bank money that would be accessible to households and businesses.
• Unlike banknotes, CBDC is digital, and unlike reserves, it is available to the general public.
• It would be denominated in pounds sterling and maintain the same value as physical banknotes.
• CBDC could be designed to offer new functionalities such as programmable money and smart contracts.

2. Opportunities for CBDC

• Resilient payments landscape: CBDC could support a more resilient and efficient payments system.
• Inclusive and competitive: It could help create a more competitive and inclusive payment system, allowing the private sector to build services around it.
• Cross-border payments: A domestic CBDC could enable better cross-border payment solutions in the future.
• Addressing decline in cash use: As cash use decreases, CBDC could ensure continued access to a risk-free form of money.

3. Design Principles

• Reliability and resilience: CBDC should be secure and reliable.
• Speed and efficiency: It should support fast and efficient payments.
• Openness to innovation and competition: The design should allow for private sector participation and innovation.

4. Platform Model of CBDC

• The Bank proposes a platform model for CBDC, which would provide the core technology and minimal functionality.
• Private sector entities (Payment Interface Providers) could build overlay services on top of this platform to offer additional features.
• The platform would need to be secure, scalable, and interoperable with existing payment systems.

5. Economic Design

• Impact on monetary stability: CBDC could affect the balance sheets of commercial banks and the Bank of England, the amount of credit provided, and the implementation of monetary policy.
• Substitution risks: The introduction of CBDC could lead to substitution from cash and commercial bank deposits, depending on its design and functionality.
• Remuneration considerations: Whether CBDC is remunerated could influence its attractiveness to users and its role in the economy.

6. Technology Design

• The Bank does not assume that CBDC must be built using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), but some elements of DLT, such as decentralisation and smart contracts, could be beneficial.
• Centralised vs. decentralised: The choice between centralised and decentralised systems will impact scalability, security, and privacy.
• Security and cryptography: Strong security measures and use of cryptography will be essential to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of CBDC transactions.

7. Next Steps

• The Bank has not yet decided whether to introduce CBDC.
• It intends to engage in further research and dialogue with the payments industry, technology providers, financial institutions, academics, and other central banks.
• The paper outlines key questions for further research, including the impact of CBDC on the payments landscape, monetary and financial stability, and the broader economy.

Conclusion

This paper is intended to be a starting point for discussion on the design and implications of CBDC. It highlights the importance of a carefully designed platform model, the need for private sector involvement, and the technological and economic trade-offs that must be considered. The Bank invites feedback and ideas from the public and stakeholders to inform future decisions on CBDC.