A survey of 86 central banks found that most respondents are engaged in work concerning central bank digital currencies, and uncertainty is fading about their likelihood to issue CBDCs in the near future. The report by the Bank for International Settlements found that 93% of respondents were conducting some form of work with CBDCs. Work on retail CBDC is more advanced than work on wholesale CBDC, with almost a quarter of central banks piloting a retail CBDC.
More than 80% of central banks said they saw potential value in having both a retail CBDC and a fast payment system, “mostly because a retail CBDC has specific properties and may offer additional features,” according to the survey. BIS researchers also concluded that there could be 15 retail and nine wholesale CBDCs publicly circulating by the end of the decade. There are currently four active retail CBDCs, which are located in the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Nigeria.
