Purpos Architect Infrastruct Technolo

Status Country Project Access

e ure ure gy
The Sand NZIA
Retail Hybrid Both Both
Bahamas Dollar Limited
Saint Kitts
DCash Retail Hybrid DLT Both Fabric
and Nevis
Launched Antigua and
DCash Retail Hybrid DLT Both Fabric
Barbuda
Saint Lucia DCash Retail Hybrid DLT Both Fabric
Grenada DCash Retail Hybrid DLT Both Fabric
China e-CNY Both Hybrid Both Account
Sweden E-krona Retail Hybrid DLT Both
Undecid
South Korea Retail Hybrid DLT Ethereum
ed
mCBDC
Thailand Both Hybrid Both Both
Bridge
E- Undecid Undecid
Ukraine Undecided Undecided
hryvnia ed ed
Anguilla DCash Both Hybrid DLT Both
Montserrat DCash Both Hybrid DLT Both
Dominica DCash Both Hybrid DLT Both
Saint
Vincent and
DCash Both Hybrid DLT Both
Pilot the
Grenadines
Project
United Arab Aber, Wholesa Undecid
Undecided Undecided Fabric
Emirates mCBDC le ed
Bridge
Saudi Project Wholesa Undecid
Undecided Undecided Fabric
Arabia Aber le ed
Undecid
Lithuania Retail Undecided Undecided Ethereum
ed
e-CNY,
Undecid
Hong Kong mCBDC Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Bridge
Project Wholesa Undecid
Singapore Undecided Undecided
Ubin le ed
Developm Project Wholesa Undecid
Switzerland Undecided Undecided
ent Helvetia le ed
Digital
Brazil Fiat Retail Hybrid DLT Token
Currency
Russia Retail Hybrid Both
Digital Undecid
France Both Undecided Undecided
euro ed
Jamaica Retail Hybrid Conventional Account
Digital Undecid
Haiti Both Hybrid Both
Gourde ed
Canada Project Both Hybrid Both Both
Jasper
 (Wholesa
le)
Digital
euro
(Retail),
Euro Area Project Both Hybrid Both Both
Stella
(Wholesa
le)
Undecid
Turkey Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Lebanon Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Israel E-shekel Retail Hybrid Undecided Ethereum
ed
Wholesa Undecid
Bahrain Undecided Undecided
le ed
Undecid
Nigeria Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Project
Stella Undecid
Japan Both Hybrid Undecided
(Wholesa ed
le)
Undecid
Mauritius Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Electroni
c legal
tender
South (Retail),
Both Undecided Undecided Token
Africa Project
Khokha
(Wholesa
le)
Research United Undecid
Retail Undecided Undecided
States ed
Iceland Rafkróna Retail Direct Undecided Both
Cross-
border
interbank
United Undecid
payments Both Hybrid Undecided
Kingdom ed
and
settlemen
ts
Digital
Netherlands Retail Hybrid Both Account
euro
Digital Undecid
Germany Hybrid Both Both
euro ed
Undecid
Norway Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Digital Undecid
Estonia Retail Undecided DLT
euro ed
Undecid Undecid
Belarus Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Spain Digital Retail Undecided Undecided Both
euro
 Digital Undecid
Italy Hybrid Both Both
euro ed
Undecid
Tunisia Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Morocco Retail Undecided Undecided Token
Undecid
Ghana E-cedi Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Kenya Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid Undecid
Rwanda Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Undecid
Madagascar eAriary Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Eswatini Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid Undecid
Palestine Rafkróna Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Digital Undecid
Kuwait Retail Undecided Undecided
dinar ed
Digital Undecid
Iran Retail Undecided Undecided
Rial ed
Digital Undecid
Georgia Retail Undecided Undecided
Gel ed
Digital
Kazakhstan Retail Hybrid Both Token
tenge
Undecid
Pakistan Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
India Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Taiwan Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Philippines Retail Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Indonesia Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Undecid
Australia Both Undecided Undecided
ed
New Undecid
Retail Undecided Undecided
Zealand ed
Undecid Undecid
Chile Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Inactive Billete
Uruguay Retail Hybrid Conventional Token
Digital
Undecid
Venezuela Both Undecided Undecided
ed
Digital
Curaçao
Curaçao and Sint Retail Hybrid Conventional Token
Maarten
Guilder
Trinidad Undecid Undecid
Undecided Undecided
and Tobago ed ed
Sint Digital Retail Hybrid Conventional Token
Maarten Curaçao
 and Sint
Maarten
Guilder
Denmark Retail Direct Undecided Both
Digital
Undecid
Finland euro Retail Undecided Both
ed
(Retail)
Undecid Undecid
Egypt Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Undecid Undecid
North Korea Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Undecid Undecid
Malaysia Undecided Undecided
ed ed
Cambodia Retail Undecided DLT Token
Undecid Undecid
Palau Undecided DLT
ed ed
Federated
Other States of
Undecid
Undecided DLT
Undecid
ed ed
Micronesia
Marshall Undecid
Retail Undecided Undecided
Islands ed

81 countries are exploring central bank digital currencies, according to a new

tracker. This number is 46 more countries than the number in May last year. In
addition, five countries have fully launched their own digital currencies. These 81
countries represent over 90 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product.
According to the center, of the countries with the four largest central banks (the US
Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of
England), the United States is furthest behind in developing a state-backed digital
currency. According to the center, the five countries that have fully launched a
digital currency are the Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda,
Saint Lucia, and Grenada.

The Bahamas digital currency name is Sand Dollar. The main goals of the Sand
Dollar to modernize and streamline the country's financial system, reduce service
delivery costs, increase transactional efficiency and improve financial inclusion.
After a successful 2019 pilot on the island conglomeration of Exuma the Sand
Dollar was launched in October 2020 on further islands of the Bahamas. The Sand
Dollar is the first ever nationwide Central Bank Digital Currency in the world.
Eastern Caribbean (comprising St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda)
digital currency is DCash. The main goal of DCash is to increase financial
inclusion, to increase payment efficiency, and provide a resilient payment system.
The center added that “14 other countries, including major economies like Sweden
and South Korea, are now in the pilot stage with their CBDCs and preparing a
possible full launch.” Before Covid, central bank digital currencies were largely a
theoretical exercise. But with the need to distribute unprecedented monetary and
fiscal stimulus around the world, combined with the rise of cryptocurrencies,
central banks have quickly realized they cannot let the evolution of money pass
them by.

The potential benefits of a CBDC can be summarized as follows:

 Lower transaction costs: it could lead to a reduction of transaction costs for

retail and institutional payments.
 Economic growth and digital innovation: becoming a favorable digital
currency jurisdiction and creating an attractive crypto ecosystem does not
only lead to enhanced economic activity but could also create spill-over
effects into other technology sectors.
 Financial inclusion: it could improve access to digital payments for
unbanked households. Given that some consumers do not have a bank
account – a precondition for using existing digital payment tools – a CBDC
could offer them access to these tools at minimal or zero cost.
  Trailblazer position: acting swiftly on a CBDC could position a country as
a pioneer in defining monetary policy on CBDCs and setting applicable
standards for the years to come.
 Cheap, safe value storage: a CBDC is potentially cheaper than cash as it
avoids production and storage costs, transportation, disposal, etc. Equally, it
is safer to distribute and could minimize fraud in the payment ecosystem.
 Technology efficiency: not having to rely on intermediaries such as banks
and a CBDC could improve settlement speed and allow for payments in real
time.
 Promoting competition: it could boost competition in payment systems and
require private actors to innovate; at the same time, it could lead to increased
competition between banks to attract bank deposits regarding assets that
might otherwise migrate to CBDC.
 Monetary policy transmission: CBDC could be used as a direct monetary
policy tool if it was interest bearing, which would allow for more direct
control of the money supply.
 Liquidity: it allows Central Banks to provide short-term liquidity assistance,
even on bank holidays; this effectively lowers the risk of individual
institutions systemically triggering chain reactions.

The potential drawbacks of introducing a CBDC are the following:

 Increased risk of system-wide bank runs: as a risk to financial stability,

such bank runs in financial crises are potentially much faster and will be
independent of geographical proximity and time.
 Competition for commercial banks: the introduction of a near substitute
for bank deposits may motivate banks to raise deposit rates and lead to a
shift from deposit funding to wholesale funding.
 Geographic limitations: CBDCs are only accepted in the country that
issued them.
 Additional compliance costs: CBDCs could require additional monitoring
and compliance as regards AML/CFT laws.
 Lack of reliability: CBDCs are vulnerable to electricity outages and
insufficient internet connections.
 Lower economic growth: CBDCs are vulnerable to electricity outages and
insufficient internet connections.