The emergence of private digital payment platforms and decentralized cryptocurrencies has prompted central banks to design their own digital sovereign payment options: Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Central banks evaluate CBDC architectures based on their target users and operational access models:

[Sovereign CBDC Frameworks]
  |- Wholesale CBDC -> Restricted to financial firms; replaces legacy interbank settlement platforms
  |- Retail CBDC ------> Broad public access; functions as a digital version of physical banknotes

Wholesale CBDCs focus on improving settlement efficiency for high-value asset transactions, while retail CBDCs are designed to support financial inclusion, lower consumer transaction fees, and preserve the role of public money in digital retail payment ecosystems.