According to a blog post from *The Times of Israel*, central banks worldwide are acquiring mature blockchain infrastructure developed by the private crypto sector—often at extremely low costs or even for 'free'—after the private sector has spent massive amounts of money on trial and error. The article notes that from November 2021 to the end of 2022, the total crypto market cap dropped from around $3 trillion to approximately $800 billion, yet the underlying technical architecture remained intact. Currently, projects like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) mBridge initiative, the European Central Bank's digital euro prototype, and tests for Israel's digital shekel are all, to varying degrees, built upon the technological achievements refined over years by the private sector. The article points out that this model—where the private sector bears the cost of trial and error, and central banks take over once the technology matures—could potentially weaken the motivation for future innovation in financial infrastructure. https://(wublock123.com)/news/central-banks-absorbing-crypto-infrastructure-costs-59167