Central Bank Digital Currency and Private Digital Currency The phenomenon of the demand for cash being surprisingly persistent and the ratio of cash in circulation to nominal GDP continuing to increase has been observed not only in Japan but in many countries.1 Nonetheless, cashless payments will likely increase in numerous countries in the long run.
Against this background, there has been a growing interest in the digitization of currencies issued by central banks, or central bank money. 1  Morten L. Bech et al., "Payments Are A-Changin' But Cash Still Rules," BIS Quarterly Review, March 2018. 4  1. Issuance Forms of Central Bank Digital Currency There are two main variants of CBDC.