Research says 80% of Central Banks are either looking for or developed CBDCs

Authorities have experienced the adoption of digital currency’s notion and blockchain tech for various purposes, and now they are seeking it

On Monday, 4th April, the second annual report of the Global GBDC index was released, which measures the maturity level of a central bank in deploying its digital currency. Recent research conducted by PwC, a professional service network and accounting firm, found out that more than 80% of the entire countries’ authorities and central banks are either interested in launching their central bank digital currency, which also included those who have already launched their CBDCs. 

Blockchain and Crypto specialist at PwC, UK, Haydn Jones, stated in the same report that more than 80% of central banks are either considering launching a CBDC or already have done so. The report measures and ranks out of 100 based on both retail digital currencies issued to be used by the general public and wholesale CBDCs that could be used by those financial institutions that have holdings with the Central bank. 

As it turns out in the report, compared to wholesale CBDCs, their counterparts, retail CBDCs, have gained a greater maturity level. For instance, ‘eNaira’ of Nigeria received 95 as a score on the basis of the most developed CBDC across both retail and wholesale categories. 

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For the Bahamas, the first country ever to launch its CBDC, the Sand Dollar was noted to perform well in the retail category. In contrast, Jam-Dex of Jamaica, which launched this year, and Thailand were included in the list on the basis of their testing and developing infrastructure for CBDC that was announced last August.  

For the wholesale category, Hong Kong and Thailand performed well and topped the list for their joint project focused on cross border payments, mBridge. For their continued CBDC project’s exploration, Singapore and France were also highly ranked. 

Crypto specialist Jones also said that the level of maturity and preparations regarding the CBDCs around the world across different countries are different. Each of them has distinct driving factors. Growth in Financial inclusion, providing features for cross-border payments, and control over financial crime are such factors that play their roles. By 2022, the report expects the research, testing, and implementation of CBDCs will grow and intensify more. 

For the first time, the report also included an overview of stablecoins. Overview of the top ten stablecoins by market cap pegged with US dollar and discussion regarding their function and backing. It stated that stablecoins are undoubtedly an integral part of this crypto ecosystem. Without using them, no institution or fund can be active in the space. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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