Agustin Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)–known as the “central bank for central banks–has urged countries to establish legal frameworks to facilitate the implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
He noted that around 80 percent of central banks either cannot issue a CBDC under current laws or lack clear legal guidelines on this matter, as per a 2020 paper by the International Monetary Fund. Carstens emphasized the public’s demand for forms of money that meet their needs and expectations, calling the existing legal uncertainty “unacceptable.”
Central banks worldwide have been making efforts to explore and address the technical and operational requirements of CBDCs. According to a BIS survey, 93 percent of central banks were involved in CBDC-related work in 2022. The BIS itself has conducted several CBDC experiments and has encouraged countries to collaborate on their CBDC designs.
Carstens stressed the urgency of addressing these legal issues to prevent any hindrance to CBDC deployment. He said, “The work to address these issues needs to begin in earnest. And it needs to proceed at pace.”
See original story at Coindesk.
Photo by World Economic Forum, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.
Jack McPherrin ([email protected]) is a managing editor of StoppingSocialism.com, research editor for The Heartland Institute, and a research fellow for Heartland's Socialism Research Center. He holds an MA in International Affairs from Loyola University-Chicago, and a dual BA in Economics and History from Boston College.
