A non-custodial wallet for digital currency: design challenges and opportunities

TL;DR

This paper discusses the design challenges of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and introduces a non-custodial wallet prototype developed through stakeholder workshops, emphasizing user-centered design and practical implementation.

Contribution

It presents a novel non-custodial CBDC wallet prototype and outlines design guidelines based on stakeholder feedback, addressing technical and social challenges.

Findings

Stakeholder workshops informed user-centered CBDC design.

The prototype demonstrates practical CBDC usage in daily life.

Design guidelines balance technical feasibility and user needs.

Abstract

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a novel form of money that could be issued and regulated by central banks, offering benefits such as programmability, security, and privacy. However, the design of a CBDC system presents numerous technical and social challenges. This paper presents the design and prototype of a non-custodial wallet, a device that enables users to store and spend CBDC in various contexts. To address the challenges of designing a CBDC system, we conducted a series of workshops with internal and external stakeholders, using methods such as storytelling, metaphors, and provotypes to communicate CBDC concepts, elicit user feedback and critique, and incorporate normative values into the technical design. We derived basic guidelines for designing CBDC systems that balance technical and social aspects, and reflect user needs and values. Our paper contributes to the CBDC discourse by demonstrating a practical example of how CBDC could be used in everyday life and by highlighting the importance of a user-centred approach.