Just over a week ago, one action by payment giants Visa and PayPal moved cryptocurrencies out of a mere “speculative asset” zone into clear “currency” realm. While much has been said about this development, the future potential of these players is even more significant in the central bank digital currency (CBDC) world than with cryptocurrencies.

CDBCs will need to share compatible technology, code languages, and standards, to achieve full functionality. Standardizing legislative structures, harmonizing regulatory discrepancies between jurisdictions, and ensuring CBDC’s legal tender status is another major dimension of interoperability challenge.