From 9a6e7c57484e16bdd3f4aa917e6489048fb242d0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Florian Dold
+We are happy to announce the publication of our paper on "Why a Digital Euro should be Online-first and Bearer-based".
+
+The European Central Bank’s “Report on a Digital Euro” considers
+two distinct types of designs for a digital euro. It argues that all functional
+requirements laid out in the report can be fulfilled by operating the two systems
+in parallel:
+2021-3: "Why a Digital Euro should be Online-first and Bearer-based
+" published
+
+
+The report does not discuss other choices of hybrid systems. However, the
+choice is more arbitrary than it might seem at first sight: bearer-based systems
+are not necessarily offline payment systems, and online payment systems do not
+need to exclude anonymity.
+
+We argue that operating a bearer-based payment system to complement an +account-based CBDC in order to gain offline and privacy features is not a good +trade-off. Adding permanent, regular offline capabilities via the bearer-based +payment instrument constantly exposes the CBDC to the severe issues inherent +in offline-capable payment systems. Instead, the offline mode of operation +should be restricted to scenarios where it is actually required, which mitigates +the risks. +
+