The Central Bank of Taiwan is working on the development of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), but there is no clear schedule for when it will be ready for publication, Reuters. reportQuoted from Regulatory Governor Yang Chinlong.
CBDC pilots are already on track
The central bank has revealed that a pilot scheme that uses digital wallets for payments has been in operation for the past two years. Yang called this a “closed-loop environment” for testing programs under simulated conditions.
To complete the project, Yang has specified three specific challenges to be addressed. It’s about communicating ideas with the general public, convincing them of their benefits, building a stable system, and developing a legal framework for its use.
However, given the scale of the immediate challenges, Yang further commented that it could take at least two years to reach these goals. And then, especially as locals tend to prefer to spend cash, central banks will need to reassess their position.
“We still have to move forward. After all, most of the young people in the future will use mobile phones, so we have to think about the next generation.”
Still fragmented topic
Despite the trend towards the CBDC, some dissenting opinions remain unresolved, including the role of retail banks in the CBDC economy, cybersecurity threats, implementation costs, and above all privacy concerns.
Article by PanteraAs of July 2021, we are taking the angle of privacy one step further by calling the CBDC the “nightmare of cyberpunk dystopia.” In particular, this article assumed that transactions were recorded and monitored. It means that parts for censoring “national enemies” will be placed.
“It’s about managing, censoring, monitoring, and limiting financial activities.”
The question is, can we trust the authorities not to abuse the power conferred by the CBDC system, especially given the actions of certain governments during the health crisis.
according to Atlantic Council, 10 countries have started CBDC and 15 countries are in one pilot stage. A total of 67 people are investigating or actively developing CBDC projects.
