Digital Currency Governance Consortium Vision for 2021

Overview: Digital currency is often hailed as a solution for long-standing challenges within the currency and payments ecosystem, yet little rigorous evaluation of its fitness for purpose and viability has been conducted. Critical issues related to digital currencies remain unresolved, ranging from consumer protection, education and privacy to technical and regulatory interoperability.

The opportunities and risks for digital financial inclusion have yet to be fully evaluated. With a variety of central banks now evaluating the notion of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in various forms and the independent emergence of “stablecoins”, technological, governance and regulatory frameworks are needed to address gaps and guide digital currency choices and implementation. To establish these frameworks, careful assessment and dialogue are needed between critical actors and stakeholders.