Architectural Model

Authorities serve as the arbiters of a Knox network, and manage the distribution and redemption of file-based digital assets (FBDAs). In the case of a national CBDC network, the Authority would be the central bank, but for internal bank money, the Authority could just be an office within the commercial bank or a consortium of commercial banks.

Authorized Intermediaries manage the day-to-day operations of the system, and interact with the Authority when necessary to distribute or redeem FBDAs, maintain relationships with other banks through wholesale transactions, and deal with retail customers. In the case of a CBDC, Authorized Intermediaries would likely be commercial banks or payment service providers. In the case of internal bank money, Authorized Intermediaries would likely be internal bank divisions or white-listed financial institutions.

Users of the system have FBDAs in their wallets, either managed by the bank as a Custodial Wallet or by themselves as a Mobile Device Wallet, and use these FBDAs to transact.