Explainer: Central bank digital currencies: Moving towards reality?

Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, hampered by wild volatility, have presented few realistic threats to central bank control over money. — Reuters

LONDON: Central banks are looking at creating their own digital currencies – a stark contrast to the ethos of cryptocurrencies that seek to subvert mainstream authority over money.

As Facebook's efforts to launch its Libra cryptocurrency pour fuel onto debates over who will control money in the future, major economies have started to examine how so-called central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could become reality.