Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to change payment systems, Shyam Nagarajan, an executive partner at IBM Consulting, said Monday on CoinDesk TVâs âFirst Moverâ from the World Economic Forum's annual conference in Davos, Switzerland.
Nagarajan said that CBDCs are the future of money, but issuers need to consider a hybrid-like model.
âThey are replacing the current digital currency system, and in a way, they are controlled,â Nagarajan said. âThis is an excellent position where a combination of permissioned and permissionless is necessary.â
While many CBDC pilot projects are still in a development phases, Nagarajan said payments will eventually be made with CBDCs. In the meantime, stablecoins, which are a form of cryptocurrency pegged to real-world assets such as gold or the U.S. dollar, are working as âstopgaps until CBDCS are available in the market.â
Rob Massey, global tax leader, blockchain and cryptocurrency at Deloitte, echoed Nagarajan's comments in a separate segment on âFirst Mover.â He said the ability to use programmable money with smart contracts can reduce friction and âhelp large-scale enterprises elevate their level of transparency and real-time payment systems.â
âItâs absolutely where weâre going,â Massey said, although he cautioned that not all CBDCs, stablecoins and smart-contract protocols âare created equal.â