Background

Recent developments have heightened global awareness of the opportunities, challenges, and risks posed by new forms of digital currency. While technological development remains an important objective, the time has come for the public sector to play a more decisive role. As new payment methods appear, appropriate regulatory frameworks will be critical. And as new technologies in the space cut across traditional lines of jurisdictional responsibility, coordination among the public and private sectors, both domestically and internationally, is increasingly required.

In the near term, the public sector will be making important decisions that will shape the trajectory of digital currency development. These include decisions related to regulation, improving efficiency, resilience, and competitiveness of payment systems, and whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Policymakers are also assessing how to support responsible digital currency innovation while safeguarding or promoting financial stability, financial inclusion and consumer protection.

The Community

The Digital Currency Governance Consortium is composed of more than 80 organizations representing numerous sectors and geographies. DCGC members represent the public sector, private sector and civil society spanning 33 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and Latin America/Caribbean. The strong sectoral and geographical diversity of the DCGC will ensure that the output reflects many perspectives and points of view.

Phase I (complete)

Over the course of 2020 and 2021, the Forum convened the Digital Currency Governance Consortium (DCGC) around a series of virtual workshops and roundtables to address key questions and governance gaps in digital currency.

The first phase of Digital Currency Governance Consortium centred on the discussion and development of relevant and timely global frameworks for digital currency governance that benefit from multi-sector input and co-design.

In November, 2021, the Digital Currency Governance Consortium published the White Paper Series Compendium report.

Phase II (ongoing)

The Digital Currency Governance Consortium (DCGC) aims to inform a responsible entry of digital currencies into the global monetary system, as central banks continue to experiment with these instruments and adoption of cryptocurrencies and privately issued stablecoins increases.​

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Through rigorous research, global multisector dialogues and analyses of local models, Phase II of DCGC will examine the macroeconomic impacts of digital currencies and inform approaches for digital currency regulation.

Its work will centre on the following content: