Issuing a Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency: Why and How

Although there are currently four retail central bank digital currencies in circulation, no central bank has yet issued the wholesale form of a central bank digital currency. There are good reasons to do so, however, and central banks have already conducted projects in this area. A wholesale central bank digital currency could be issued in different ways. This article presents two "polar" scenarios, with a restrained and an extensive use of the possibilities offered by recourse to distributed ledger technology. Their consequences for monetary policy are discussed, and some precautions for central banks that intend to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency are underlined.