© Reuters.
Investing.com – Central bank digital currencies have been a hot topic for several years now. Central banks have realized that blockchain technology has tremendous benefits for payments.
In response to this, efforts are being made around the world to develop a digital payment system through which central banks are linked together.
is one of the forerunners in this area and is already collaborating with several central banks to make this goal a reality.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released a document with important points to consider when developing a CBDC.
According to the organization, the most important criterion must be energy consumption, since the different consensus mechanisms available have higher or lower energy requirements.
The most energy-intensive blockchains are those based on the so-called proof-of-work method, in which mining plays an important role for transactions. The best-known representative of this type is the , which consumes 144 terawatt hours of energy annually.
The IMF assumes that the regular global payment system consumes 47.3 terawatt hours per year. Given the threat of the climate crisis, a CBDC must rely on technology to reduce this energy consumption.
By Marco Oehrl