Perspective Chapter: The Future of Wholesale CBDCs in a Tokenizing and Trumpian World

Abstract

Globally, the private sector is moving towards expanding the growth of tokenized assets trading, using private money channels (stablecoins) as payment systems. At the same time, the public sector, often central banks in alliance with private sector partners, is engaged in ambitious projects, exploring the feasibility of public payment systems using wholesale CBDCs to facilitate the cross-border use of fiat currencies and to ensure universal public trust in global cross-border payments. The advent of the use of distributed ledger technology over the past decade is enabling these activities to take place. This paper outlines these developments and their impacts and the future emergence of a global assets trading and payments ecosystem. The emergence of this system is also considered in the context of the gradual restructuring of global trade and monetary patterns, via private and public sector initiatives, and the potential significant impact of a Trumpian world order. The future seems to imply a more protectionist and, effectively, isolationist US—in monetary as well as trading terms.