Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital version of fiat currency. With the rise of cryptocurrencies, declining use of cash, and emergence of stablecoins, economies such as Australia, EU, US and China are exploring CBDCs and the possibility of CBDCs going global. With the introduction of CBDCs, currency competition is likely to be fierce between public money and private money, giving rise to a new financial ecosystem that will generate huge volumes of data that is considered ‘King’ in the digital age. CBDCs will also profoundly affects business models – from finance and e-commerce, to data, technology and security.
UNSW Scientia Professor Ross Buckley (UNSW Law & Justice, CIBEL), Urszula McCormack (King & Wood Mallesons), Professor Barney Tan (UNSW Business School), and Michele Levine (Hamilton Locke) discussed the structure of CBDCs in the financial system and what they mean for local and international businesses.