DIGITAL MONEY AND TOKENIZED ASSETS

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

A digital form of a sovereign currency issued directly by a central bank, representing a claim on the central bank rather than a commercial bank. Wholesale CBDCs target interbank settlement; retail CBDCs target consumer use.

EXAMPLE

The Bank for International Settlements' Project mBridge tested wholesale CBDCs to replace correspondent banking in cross-border settlements between central banks.

Relevant Roles and Functions

On-chain Role
Head of Stablecoin and Digital Money Strategy
Function
CBDC Interoperability
Institutional Payment Rails
Real-time Settlement
Stablecoin Issuance + Integration
Tokenized Deposits
TradFi Equivalent
Deposit Products
Payments
Treasury

Related Terms

Stablecoin

A digital token designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency and backed by reserve assets or algorithmic mechanisms. Unlike tokenized deposits, stablecoins are generally issued outside the regulated banking system.

Example

Circle's USDC stablecoin settled over $400B in adjusted on-chain transactions in 2025, increasingly used by institutions for treasury and cross-border payments.

Tokenized Deposit

A bank-issued, blockchain-based representation of a commercial bank deposit that moves on distributed ledger infrastructure while remaining a liability of the issuing bank—distinct from a stablecoin, which is typically issued by a non-bank entity.

Example

Citi's tokenized deposit pilot allows corporate clients to move cash between subsidiaries in real time on a permissioned ledger, with the same credit standing as a traditional deposit.

Programmable Money

Digital currency—whether a stablecoin, tokenized deposit, or CBDC—embedded with conditional logic via smart contracts, enabling automatic execution of payments or transfers when specified conditions are met.

Example

With programmable money, a corporate treasury can instruct a stablecoin to automatically fund a supplier invoice upon confirmed delivery, without manual approval.

Correspondent Banking

A relationship where one bank holds deposits and provides payment services on behalf of another bank—typically across borders—enabling international money movement. On-chain rails are increasingly viewed as a replacement for the correspondent network’s cost and latency.

Example

Stablecoins settled on-chain can route cross-border corporate payments in seconds, bypassing the multi-day correspondent banking chain that currently extracts 2–5% in fees.