It seems to me that CBDCs cut out a lot of the friction that currently prevents people from moving towards more interesting and decentralized payment infrastructure.
Any system backed by math seems to me to be strictly better than any system which is not backed by math. Legacy banking infrastructure is a dangerous mess, and needs to die. To me, the acceptance of CBDCs is an admission that the old ways are failing, and a crypto backed economy is the future. CBDCs will still need to compete with crypto assets already in existence, but at least now everything can speak the same language.
But the current legacy system is an evolved standard. A drop-in replacement is likely to introduce a lot of unintended consequences, however beautiful in theory it may seem.
There are actual, visible consequences to trying to keep the old dying system alive. It's hopelessly broken, and more important, unsustainable. For it to truly be a product of "evolution", you have to let the broken parts die.
Any system backed by math seems to me to be strictly better than any system which is not backed by math. Legacy banking infrastructure is a dangerous mess, and needs to die. To me, the acceptance of CBDCs is an admission that the old ways are failing, and a crypto backed economy is the future. CBDCs will still need to compete with crypto assets already in existence, but at least now everything can speak the same language.