Central banks won't issue digital currency if it risks eliminating cash, Bank of Japan official says

A Bank of Japan official believes that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will not have widespread backing, Reuters writes.

Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya explained that “eliminating cash would make settlement infrastructure inconvenient for the public, so no central bank would do this."

He also added that people would still opt for cash to avoid charges as long as negative interest rates applied to digital currencies, thus limiting adoption. In other words, he hinted that the decline of cash is necessary for cryptocurrency adoption.