Digital Money: CBDCs, Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoins

Digital money: the institutional path across CBDCs, tokenized deposits and stablecoins

Overview

What does an institution need to build digital money solutions? In this MERGE Madrid talk, Ripple and Peersyst explain why digital money is gaining so much importance, the differences between CBDCs, tokenized deposits and stablecoins, where to issue them, and what infrastructure (custody, nodes and APIs) a bank needs to enter this world.

What you'll learn

• Why now: regulation (MiCA, the Genius Act), 24/7 efficiency and competition as drivers
• Use cases: cross-border payments, asset fractionalization and liquidity
• Three types of digital money: CBDCs, tokenized deposits and stablecoins
• Where to issue: public vs private networks and the role of proof of authority
• Interoperability: bridges to connect private and public environments
• Infrastructure for banks: custody, nodes, APIs and an integrated “blockchain service”

Session summary

Why now: it identifies three drivers of digital money: regulation (MiCA, the US Genius Act and progress in Africa), efficiency (24/7 settlement and lower operating costs) and growing competition and institutional interest, with client pressure to have a presence in digital assets.

Use cases: it reviews cross-border payments (versus the slowness and cost of Swift), asset fractionalization to reach new investors, and liquidity optimization.

Three types of digital money: it distinguishes CBDCs (issued by a central bank, with the wholesale model as the dominant approach), tokenized deposits (commercial banks' “defense”, bringing the traditional deposit onto blockchain) and stablecoins (issued by private entities and collateralized), which the panel expects to coexist compatibly.

Where to issue: it compares private networks (more regulatory control, useful for consortia, with mechanisms like proof of authority) and public ones (greater reach and stablecoin success, but more control challenges), stressing interoperability via bridges.

Technical components: it describes the basics to operate (network connection via node or RPC, a custody solution to sign, and APIs to integrate), and how Peersyst bundles them into a “blockchain service” so a bank can operate with traditional integrations without mastering the blockchain layer.

Custody for banks: it presents custody as a foundational base, with five pillars (flexible governance and policies, account segregation, end-to-end token lifecycle management, an immutable audit trail and connection to the blockchain service), plus the option of a vertical solution for faster go-to-market.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with Ripple and Peersyst on digital money and institutional infrastructure.

FAQs

What is the difference between CBDCs, tokenized deposits and stablecoins?
A CBDC is issued by a central bank; tokenized deposits are bank deposits on blockchain; stablecoins are issued by a private entity and collateralized with reserves.

Public or private networks?
Private ones give more regulatory control (useful for consortia); public ones give more reach; the key, according to the talk, is interoperability between them.

What does a bank need to operate with digital money?
A network connection (node or RPC), a custody solution to sign transactions and integration APIs, which can be bundled into a “blockchain service”.

Is this investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the talk; it does not constitute investment or legal advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.