The central bank digital currency (CBDC) space is emerging day by day as various central banks all across the whole world are accelerating the development of their centralized digital currencies. Countries such as China, Japan, England, and The Bahamas are introducing their own central bank digital currencies in order to use them as an alternative to cash as well as in inter or intra-bank payments and settlements. However, in this emerging CBDC space, the native digital currency of Ripple is the most relevant cryptocurrency, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The Geneva-based international organization WEF has differentiated between digital currencies and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). According to WEF, CBDCs are different from other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or other stablecoins. WEF says that a central bank digital currency is created by the monitory authority of a country and therefore it is a digitalized version of the country’s national currency.
While on the other hand, the organization said, cryptocurrencies are decentralized and have not been issued by any central bank or monitory authority. WEF said:
“CBDC is a digitized version of sovereign currency, created and issued by, and a liability of, the country’s monetary authority. CBDC differs from other forms of digital or virtual currencies, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and ‘stablecoins,’ which are not issued by central banks or typically considered legal tender.”
Though the organization is differentiating between digital currencies and central bank digital currencies, on the other hand, it also called Ripple’s native cryptocurrency XRP as the most relevant digital currency in the space of emerging CBDCs that can be used effectively in international settlements as well as payments.
Meanwhile, the blockchain payment technology company Ripple says that central banks can use its native digital currency XRP for supporting the usage of their central bank digital currencies as according to Ripple, “XRP is faster, less costly, and more scalable than any other digital asset, making it the ideal instrument in bridging two different currencies quickly and efficiently.”