Financial Inclusion
CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency)
A digital form of central bank money issued to the public or financial institutions, distinct from physical cash and existing digital reserves, currently in various stages of research and deployment globally.
Digital Euro
The European Central Bank's proposed retail central bank digital currency, designed for use by eurozone households and businesses as a complement to physical euro banknotes.
Financial Inclusion and Tokenization: The Policy Debate Between Promise and Reality
Tokenization and crypto are frequently promoted as tools for financial inclusion — reaching the 1.4 billion unbanked. The political economy of this argument reveals both genuine potential and significant risks that regulators must navigate.
Financial Inclusion or Surveillance? The CBDC Dilemma
CBDCs promise to reach 1.4 billion unbanked people globally, but programmable central bank money carries unprecedented surveillance and control capabilities. The tension at the heart of digital currency policy.
United Nations and Digital Finance: UNCTAD, UNDP, and the Global South Perspective
UN agencies — particularly UNCTAD and UNDP — have developed distinct perspectives on crypto and tokenization from the Global South lens, emphasising financial inclusion, sovereign monetary policy, and the risks of crypto dollarisation.