De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch Central Bank, wants to lead the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
According to the institution's latest bulletin published yesterday, De Nederlandsche Bank has said the use of cash is "clearly" declining in the Netherlands, showing that people are using less money issued by the central bank to buy things.
For this reason, the bank is wondering whether such institutions should start thinking about "providing a new type of money that is better attuned to the needs of citizens and firms."
According to the country's central bank, a new type of money could, among other things, encourage diversity in the payments industry as well as facilitate cross-border transactions. In addition, a new type of money could help increase citizens' confidence in the traditional monetary system.
The institution has stated it is ready to take a leading role in the development of this type of money if the ECB decides to launch a project.
Other central banks are actively working on the development of their own CBDCs. For example, the Central Bank of China has recently said it has successfully completed the high-level design of its digital yuan, and it has recently been known it is starting to test this new currency in some Chinese cities with the cooperation of several local banks.
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