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CBDC

A CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) is digital money issued by a central bank and denominated in the national unit of account. It is a direct liability of that bank, unlike a commercial-bank deposit or private stablecoin. Access may be retail or wholesale, and blockchain is not required.

Pablo Gómez

Written by Pablo Gómez

Founder & CEO at Metlabs · Reviewed on October 11, 2026

A retail CBDC is designed for public payments; a wholesale CBDC targets eligible participants such as financial institutions. Both differ from commercial-bank money by being direct central-bank liabilities.

The design may use a central database or distributed ledger. Privacy, holding limits, intermediation and programming features are product and policy choices rather than universal properties.

Legal-tender status depends on each issuance’s legal framework. The CBDC definition does not imply that every announced project circulates or uses smart contracts.

Sources

  1. BIS: Central bank digital currencies, foundational principles and core features

Also known as

  • Central Bank Digital Currency
  • CBDCs

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