Nations around the world are conducting research into the design of central bank digital currency (CBDC), a new, digital form of money that would be issued by central banks alongside cash and central bank reserves. Retail CBDC would be used by individuals and businesses as form of money suitable for routine commerce. An important motivating factor in the development of retail CBDC is the decline of the popularity of central bank money for retail purchases and the increasing use of digital money created by the private sector for such purposes. The debate about how retail CBDC would be designed and implemented has led to many proposals, which have sparked considerable debate about business models, regulatory frameworks, and the socio-technical role of money in general. Here, we present a critical analysis of the existing proposals. We examine their motivations and themes, as well as their underlying assumptions. We also offer a reflection of the opportunity that retail CBDC represents and suggest a way forward in furtherance of the public interest.

翻译：世界各国正积极研究央行数字货币（CBDC）的设计方案——这是一种由中央银行发行、与现金及央行准备金并存的新型数字化货币形式。零售型CBDC将作为适用于日常商务的货币形态，供个人与企业使用。开发零售型CBDC的重要驱动力在于：中央银行货币在零售支付领域的受欢迎程度持续下降，而私人部门创造的电子货币在该领域的应用日益广泛。关于零售型CBDC设计与实施路径的讨论催生了诸多方案，这些方案引发了关于商业模式、监管框架以及货币在社会技术体系中角色的广泛争论。本文对现有方案进行批判性分析，考察其动机、主题及潜在假设，同时反思零售型CBDC所代表的机遇，并提出符合公共利益的推进路径。