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CBDC: Financial Stability or Privacy Threat?

경제_금융 2026-04-22 경제/금융

CBDC Adoption: A Global Trend and Korea's Choice Discussions surrounding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are heating up in the global financial sector. As central banks worldwide explore or pilot digital currency adoption, this new monetary innovation is sparking intense debate over the balance between efficiency, stability, and individual freedom. However, CBDC is not merely a matter of technological advancement; it carries the potential to profoundly impact social and economic change. This article aims to analyze the expected benefits and potential risks of CBDC, as well as its possible effects on the Korean financial market. CBDC adoption has already become a global trend. China, for instance, began piloting its digital yuan (e-CNY) in 2020 and conducted large-scale real-world tests, including with foreign visitors during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, positioning itself as a global leader in this area. As of late 2024, the cumulative transaction volume of the digital yuan in China exceeded approximately 7 trillion yuan (about $1 trillion), with over 260 million individual wallets opened. The Swedish central bank (Riksbank) has been exploring the possibility of introducing a CBDC through its 'e-krona' project since 2017, emphasizing the need for a digital legal tender as cash usage has fallen below 10%. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) released a discussion paper on the "Digital Dollar" in January 2022 and is currently in the research phase. The European Central Bank (ECB) launched the investigation phase of its digital euro project in July 2021, with a decision on its introduction expected by 2025. In Korea, led by the Bank of Korea (BOK), a CBDC simulation was completed from August 2021 to June 2022, successfully testing basic issuance and distribution, as well as remittance and payment functions based on digital wallets. The Bank of Korea particularly emphasizes that CBDC can enhance payment efficiency amid declining cash usage. Indeed, Korea's cash circulation as a percentage of GDP is relatively low, at around 6-7%, compared to other major developed countries, with very high rates of mobile simple payments and credit card usage. According to the World Bank's Global Findex Database 2021 report, approximately 24% of adults worldwide do not have a bank account, a proportion that is even higher in developing countries. CBDC is considered an innovative tool that can provide access to these financially underserved populations. A 2023 survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) indicates that over 90% of central banks globally are engaged in CBDC research, with 26% conducting pilot projects. One of the key expected benefits of CBDC is improved financial stability and monetary policy. The Financial Times, in an opinion column titled "The Promise of CBDC: Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Systemic Stability," presented a positive outlook, suggesting that CBDC could make global payment systems more efficient and address vulnerabilities in existing financial systems. Specifically, CBDC can be designed to enhance the effectiveness of existing monetary policy tools, such as quantitative easing (QE). While the traditional money supply system operates through commercial banks as intermediaries, CBDC opens a direct transaction channel between the central bank and citizens. For example, in times of economic crisis, the central bank could use CBDC to swiftly deliver emergency financial aid directly to the public. This implies a significant reduction in the time and administrative costs incurred by governments in distributing disaster relief funds, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Furthermore, CBDC is also considered effective in preventing illegal money laundering and tax evasion. A 2022 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that the transaction traceability feature of digital currencies will reduce the size of the underground economy, which thrives on the anonymity of cash, and promote a more transparent economy. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that global money laundering amounts to 2-5% of annual GDP (approximately $2-4 trillion) and analyzes that CBDC's transaction record-keeping capability could reduce this figure. Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) also anticipated in its 2023 report that CBDC adoption would enhance the efficiency of tracking financial crimes. Real-time monitoring of small transactions, in particular, could help block the flow of funds related to voice phishing and illegal gambling. Conversely, there are considerable concerns regarding CBDC adoption. The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial titled "A Tool for Digital Surveillance: How CBDCs Threaten Civil Liberties," raised the risk of CBDC devolving into a powerful tool for control. It argued that if the government tracks and manages digital currency transaction data, individual privacy could be severely threatened. CBDC's structure, where all transacti