Quantstamp Serving as Technical Contributor to World Economic Forum's CBDC Project

Quantstamp is serving as a technical contributor on the World Economic Forum’s Digital Currency Governance Consortium which is a multi-sector community of experts and policymakers co-designing policy and governance frameworks for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins. The Digital Currency Governance Consortium is contributing to two working groups, one that is investigating the value proposition of stablecoins for financial inclusion, and the other that is developing a framework to guide central banks in their understanding of key technology decisions for CBDCs. 

For the latter, Quantstamp is working with the World Economic Forum, ConsenSys, and the Stellar Development Foundation, among other organizations. The findings of this working group will be used to help policymakers including central banks understand the technical choices and trade-offs associated with developing CBDCs for various policy goals, such as financial inclusion or payment system resilience. 

Central Banks are Exploring CBDCs

A primary goal of the World Economic Forum’s work related to CBDCs is helping policymakers understand the range of critical issues involved with the development of a CBDC. Central bank interest in digital currencies is increasing with the diminished use of cash for payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and news related to both CBDC initiatives around the world and private-sector stablecoin initiatives. According to the Bank for International Settlements, more than 80% of central banks are exploring CBDCs currently or in the near future. 

In addition to CBDCs, the World Economic Forum has contributed to other applications and policy areas related to blockchain technology including anti-corruption and government transparency, dispute resolution for on-chain enterprise transactions, data marketplaces, and governance models. The World Economic Forum is prioritizing heavy collaboration with governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society in order to best co-design research and policy frameworks that are globally relevant, valuable, and likely to be adopted. In regards to CBDC projects, the World Economic Forum is facilitating a shared understanding of how this technology is implemented, governed, and regulated.

Prior Engagements with the World Economic Forum

This is not the first time that Quantstamp has worked with the World Economic Forum. Quantstamp also collaborated with the World Economic Forum in their effort to study blockchain’s ability to reduce corruption in Colombia. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that an estimated 20-25% of funds are lost to corruption globally at the government level. 

The World Economic Forum, Inter-American Development Bank, and National University of Colombia worked with Quantstamp as one of its technical contributors to design and build a blockchain-based technology solution to increase the transparency and accountability in Colombia’s public procurement process. This project was the most comprehensive investigation of blockchain’s ability to address corruption that has been conducted to date. It intends to serve as a resource and model for other countries. 

Experts in Blockchain Security

The World Economic Forum invited Quantstamp to serve as a technical contributor because of our expertise in the blockchain industry. Quantstamp has secured over 8 billion USD worth of digital assets over the course of over 200 engagements with our clients. We secured two Ethereum 2.0 clients (Prysm and Teku), other Layer 1 protocols, and complex DeFi protocols, formally verified financial blockchain primitives, and more. Our clients and their users trust us to keep their assets safe. 

Quantstamp looks forward to working with NGOs and governments to facilitate their understanding of digital currency.