Central banks from dozens of countries around the world are actively researching how blockchain and distributed ledger technology can be applied to solve long-standing challenges. However, their activities are not always well known or communicated. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and highlight the key issues and areas of research, experimentation and implementation for central banks with respect to blockchain technology. It also provides an overview of key literature in this area. Importantly, DLT is an active area of research and exploration, and many central banks have not yet reached definitive conclusions regarding the opportunities it provides when considering risks.