NPR. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Patty Hirsch.

And I'm Adrian Ma.

To the average person, cryptocurrency can look a little scary, a little volatile and complicated,

even criminal, dare I say?

Dare you say?

I do dare say.

But to governments and to central banks around the world,

the technology behind crypto is beginning to look pretty compelling.

And when used as a medium of exchange, crypto networks have proven to be generally quicker and cheaper than legacy payment systems,

and potentially more secure. than legacy payment systems and they're becoming increasingly popular.

Which is why a couple years ago Central Banks around the world began running tests on this

radical idea that maybe they should have their own version of

crypto currencies, so-called Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs for short.

CBDCs, they're generating free song of excitement in some quarters. short. so-called digital dollar is a vital component of our economic security or a

shortcut to government interference and an erosion of privacy and individual rights.

So today on the show we'll take a look at Central Bank Digital Currencies.

We'll find out what they are, what the pros and cons of a CDDC could be, and we'll ask,

do countries really need them?

That's coming up after the break.

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internationally at the mid-market exchange rate, no guesswork,

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