Selected Legal Considerations for Central Bank Digital Currencies

This chapter aims to guide policymakers, including central banks, in assessing their legal frameworks to ensure a sound basis for the issuance of CBDCs, for the purpose of mitigating any legal, financial, operational, and reputational risks.

Volume/Issue: Volume 2025 Issue 006

Publication date: November 2025

ISBN: 9798229028004

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Topics covered in this book

This title contains information about the following subjects. Click on a subject if you would like to see other titles with the same subjects.

Money and Monetary Policy , Retail CBDC , Wholesale CBDC , Legal Framework , CBDC Payment Platform , CBDC Intermediaries , CBDC Functionalities , Tokenization

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Summary

What are the selected legal considerations for retail CBDC (rCBDC) and wholesale CBDC (wCBDC)? First, with respect to rCBDC, this chapter discusses the mechanisms through which rCBDC is sanctioned as a currency; the legal basis for its issuance and provision of a payment platform; and the central bank’s mandate to regulate rCBDC service providers. It examines the nature and impact of legal relationships in the rCBDC landscape, among others, aiming to help central banks better assess potential legal risks. The analysis also considers specific rCBDC design features, including holding and transaction limits, fee caps, interest accrual, programmability, and offline capabilities. Subsequently, this chapter addresses wCBDC-specific legal considerations such as the legal nature of wCBDC; the central bank’s mandate to issue wCBDC and to operate its platform (whether directly or through third parties); the legal relationship between the central bank and users; and settlement finality of wCBDC transactions.