Insights and Analysis

Comparative Guide: DLT and Innovations in Wholesale Settlement in Central Bank Money (UK)

10 January 2025

In this guide, we compare innovations allowing for settlement in central bank money such as wholesale CBDCs, synchronisation, and private-public partnerships (i.e. so-called “synthetic CBDCs”).

What is happening?

In our previous Comparative Guide, we explored innovations in private forms of digital money and money-like instruments available to retail customers, including fiat-referencing stablecoins, e-money and tokenised deposit.

As the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) expands into the wholesale space, regulators such as the Bank of England (BoE) are now actively experimenting with innovations in public money.

Why it matters

Instruments such as stablecoins and tokenised commercial bank deposits generally do not allow for settlement on the central bank’s balance sheet. However, central bank money, being the ultimate risk-free asset, plays an important, anchoring role in the context of wholesale settlement.

In this guide, we compare innovations allowing for settlement in central bank money such as wholesale CBDCs, synchronisation, and private-public partnerships (i.e. so-called “synthetic CBDCs”).

Download the PDF here

For more information, please contact a member of the team or visit the Hogan Lovells Digital Assets and Blockchain Hub.