Canada has revealed its plans for designing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) after conducting years of research.
According to a job posting listed June 11, the Bank of Canada said it was “reinventing central banking” and embarking on a program of “major social significance” to design a contingent system for a CBDC. The posting, which is for the CBDC’s Project Manager, describes the new currency as a “banknote, but in digital form.”
The post continues,
This project will require us to break new ground. It will take into consideration a wide variety of factors, including policy considerations, diverse stakeholder needs, difficult technical challenges and the development of a technical architecture to realize a CBDC pilot system.
The central bank outlined potential challenges to the project’s development, highlighting privacy and accessibility as important concerns.
The posting claims the new digital currency will not be “aiming for cash-like anonymity” but should be “highly private” while remaining compliant with anti-money laundering regulations.
The Bank of Canada also wants the CBDC to be usable by all Canadians, even those without access to a bank account or cellular phone. The posting points to remote communities without access to cellular networks as a potential hurdle for the digital currency’s accessibility.
In addition to privacy and usability, the posting noted a need for the CBDC to be resilient in the event of electrical or network outages while still providing the “highest levels” of security.
Featured Image Credit: Photo via Pixabay.com
