The Philippine central bank has become the latest national monetary authority to consider establishing its own digital currency.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has formed a committee to assess the feasibility and policy implications of such a move.
Governor Benjamin Diokno stated that no decision will be made until the findings of the committee, which are expected some time in August, are fully examined.
Diokno also said that he does not expect traditional fiat currencies to disappear anytime soon and in keeping with other central banks' thinking, he said that the underlying blockchain technology represents more potential value than some of the digital currencies currently in demand.
“Cryptocurrency for us has always been beyond the asset itself but more on the blockchain technology that underpins it,” he said.
Nor is BSP the only central bank to be exploring the idea of a digital currency, despite the concern that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) which are distributed directly to consumers could cause friction with commercial banks. A group containing the Bank of England, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan have collaborated on assessing the potential of such a concept while China has gone further than most by beginning a pilot program for its own digital currency.
And the Bank of International Settlements, the international central bank for central banks, last month issued a report stating that central bank digital currencies warranted consideration.