After presenting the historical evolution of money through a combination of technological developments and institutional changes, the paper discusses the arguments in favour of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the potential related risks.
The issuance of a CBDC would make it possible to counteract the risk of a loss of monetary sovereignty (understood as the ability to respond to the needs of the people; Draghi, 2019), in the event that other central banks issue this type of currency on an international scale, private digital currencies develop on a global scale, or cash is no longer used by citizens. The risks associated with the issuance of CBDCs could be mitigated through the introduction of specific technical features.
