That's not what they're working on though. No one is dumb enough to try to make a central (and traditional) database/system for digital money. They could do it, and if they do it eventually will get hacked. They will use blockchain technology because of the security benefits (encryption, redundancy, validation). The part they're removing is the decentralized aspect.
Okay, I may have went too far there. I didn't properly think that through, but I still think it's a bad idea to not use a blockchain for a new currency.
What do you think the Federal Reserve Bank does? Every bank in the US has an account with the Federal Reserve. The Fed maintains a central database of the transactions between those accounts.
The only difference between a blockchain and a traditional database is that a blockchain has an inherit audit trail due to the use of crypto algorithms and digital signatures. A traditional database can have similarly immutable record keeping with digital signatures as well.
