Cryptocurrency is a confusing business with a language all its own, in part because it is a genuinely new way of doing business and in part because it was created in large part by programmers and cryptographers, who should never be allowed to name anything regular people will use.
Cryptocurrencies have a lot of uses as an investment, as a currency for payments, as a store of value, as well as others. Like any investment, it’s vital to know what you’re talking about and more importantly what the person trying to sell you something is really saying. And like any other field of finance, industry, art or basically every human endeavor, it has its own lingo, acronyms and definitions.
See also: Dai or Die: ‘Payment Stablecoins’ and Why the Taxonomy of Crypto Matters
In this series of articles, we’re creating a number of glossaries for various parts of the crypto industry, which we’ll combine into a larger reference tool. Today, we’re talking about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), many of which are or will likely be built on blockchain technology. In the last three years, CBDCs like a digital dollar have gone from something few people have heard about to national necessities. More than 100 countries are either studying, planning or developing CBDCs.
Read more: PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Glossary: The Basics
PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Glossary: Regulations, Legal and Crime
PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Glossary: Decentralized Finance or DeFi
PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Glossary: Stablecoins
Access: In this context, it means the access of individuals and businesses to payments services and the broader financial infrastructure.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML): See PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Glossary: Regulations, Legal and Crime
Central Bank: A national institution that that manages and controls the production and distribution of banknotes, digital cash and credit, formulates monetary policy and sets the amount of money in circulation. It sets interest rates and acts as a bank for…
