Taiwan Completes Wholesale CBDC Technical Study, Central Bank Official Says

Taiwan's central bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of China, has finished a technical study of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to Deputy Governor Chu Mei-lie.

In a Dec. 7 speech, Chu said the bank's focus is now on conducting surveys to gather feedback from the public, government agencies, industry and academia on improving the design of a CBDC platform.

Jurisdictions worldwide are considering the merits of CBDCs for interbank and retail payments, bolstered by a green light from the global central bank group, the Bank for International Settlements.

Chu says CBDCs "can serve as the operational basis for tokenization" as traditional financial institutions increasingly experiment with digitizing real-world assets. But these innovations may also pose significant risks to financial stability, consumer protection, anti-money laundering measures and market integrity, Chu warned.

"Financial supervision agencies should consider relevant regulatory measures in response to the development trend of tokenization," she said.