Centralized Research

The DCI is engaged in collaborative research projects investigating the technical feasibility of CBDCs with several central banking authorities around the world. Current collaborators include the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the DCI’s collaborator in Project Hamilton), the Bank of Canada, and the Bank of England.

In addition, the DCI is engaged in collaborative techno-social research with Maiden Labs; this multi-disciplinary work, funded by the Gates Foundation, seeks to center global users in the design of digital currencies and to identify the technical and policy design choices most likely to increase financial inclusion and mitigate harm to the poor.

Many central banks are exploring the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a new form of central bank money which could be made available to the general public. Central banks, researchers, and policymakers have proposed various objectives including fostering financial inclusion, improving efficiency in payments, prompting innovation in financial services, maintaining financial stability, and promoting privacy. Because the CBDC research process is still in early stages, several technical design questions remain open for investigation, including whether or not a CBDC is even the right way to achieve these goals. The answers to these questions will have meaningful implications and consequences for what options are, or are not, available to policymakers.

The MIT DCI’s interest in CBDC research stems from a desire to ensure that neutral, responsible research is being done on this technology in order to inform policymakers of options. We don’t yet know if a CBDC can help improve our financial system, or how one might be best designed to do that, but we believe engaging in technical research is an important step in answering that question. Building and implementing helps us understand the challenges better, putting us in a unique position to help create designs that emphasize privacy, user agency, and financial equity.


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