Advanced and emerging economies within Asia Pacific are exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as the next step towards digital public money to ensure monetary systems are appropriate, adaptive, and future-proof. Each jurisdiction will encounter its own subtly unique challenges in implementation. Focused on the Asia Pacific region, this book examines the motivations behind CBDC adoption, the design and technological requirements, and the policy challenges faced by central banks.

Using nations within Asia Pacific as case studies, it asks whether the potential design of CBDC will be influenced by the jurisdiction’s regulation of legal tender and the central bank’s motivations for exploring CBDC, considering the required technological capabilities. In addition to legislative and practical considerations domestically, each nation within the region must consider how its CBDC will be received within a region where perspectives and approaches on CBDC differ substantially. Despite little detail being confirmed regarding the eventual composition of some jurisdiction’s CBDC, the book provides policymakers with reflections regarding the formulation of CBDC and its potential structure. Through a considered analysis of legal tender regulation, central bank motivations, and the technological capabilities of CBDCs, the book provides readers with insights into navigating implementation challenges and pursuing broad public adoption.

Whether you are a researcher, academic, policymaker, economist, or simply interested in the future of money, this work presents an unbiased, structured approach to understanding how CBDCs could reshape our economic landscape and offers a critical perspective on what this technological evolution means for financial systems around the world.