##ization of finance. the bundesbank has put this topic on the agenda of the g20 during germany ’ s presidency last year. one important aspect of this issue we weren ’ t able to look at in the framework of the g20 is the possibilities and risks that come with the issuance of digital tokens or even digital central bank money. the question whether new technology changes fundamentally the foundations of central banking is increasingly discussed amongst central bankers. agustin, your talk today is highly welcomed because it will contribute to an objectification of the debate and will constitute an important input for our policy deliberations. i am very happy that we were able to attract such a distinguished speaker for this task. fire away. the floor is yours. 1 agustin carstens ( 2013 ). the quest for successful policy responses to sovereign crises. speech at the monetary authority of singapore lecture 2013, 5 february 2013. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

burkhard balz : opportunities and risks of central bank digital currencies keynote speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the virtual european payments conference “ key trends in the european payments landscape ”, virtual event, 17 june 2021. * * * 1 introduction ladies and gentlemen, mr maleki, mr bott, thank you for your warm welcome, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to deliver a keynote speech at today ’ s conference. the euro football tournament kicked off recently, but things are rather different this year. there will be fewer gatherings in person and no “ public viewings ”, as we say in germany, with thousands of fans. instead, i have already heard about public viewings taking place in the digital sphere, with fans using virtual conference software to get together and cheer on their favourite team. fortunately, the games themselves are taking place in real life – with a considerable number of fans in the stadium – and not virtually. the same still cannot be said for most meetings in the business world. therefore, i am also speaking to you in a virtual, digital format today. however, digitalisation has also found its way into football, with teams using the likes of big data analytics to improve their performance. and we all know that money plays an important role in football business as well. so there is some common ground with the topic of our panel discussion and my keynote today : it is about rapid change, digitalisation and digital money, and central bank digital currencies in particular. cbdcs are one of the most exciting developments facing central banks today – not just in europe, but worldwide. many questions need to be answered. let me name just three of them : what opportunities are associated with cbdc? is there a need for banknotes to go digital? what features would cater to the demands of consumers and enterprises in both the financial and the industrial sector? maybe today ’ s conference can shed some more light on the different components of these important questions. market experts in europe and around the world are engaged in a lively debate about these questions, and several central banks are looking into the opportunities and risks associated with central bank digital currencies. a survey among central banks by the bank for international settlements ( bis ) shows a shift away from mainly analytical work on cbdc towards technical experimentation, with more than 60 % of central banks reporting that they are running practical experiments. 1 1 / 4