At the moment there is ‘not a compelling case’ for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Bank of Canada’s Deputy Governor declared, however a prototype is on the way and the Bank plans to consult with a wide range of stakeholders to potentially design a central bank digital currency.
Still, the Bank sees the potential of widely used private cryptocurrencies as potential threats to the Canadian dollar.
The Bank for International Settlements has found a growing number of central banks are likely to issue their own digital currencies in the next few years. While many of those launching pilot schemes are emerging economies, China is the major economy closest to issuing a digital currency. Recently, Sweden began trailing a digital e-krona. Also, a major Canada-based digital commerce platform, Shopify, would join Facebook’s Libra Association.
Despite these announcements, the Bank of Canada reassured Canadians that their cash would not become obsolete anytime soon.
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