The Atlantic Council has released a new study that says 134 countries, which make up 98% of the world’s economy, are looking into central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This is a big jump from May 2020, when there were only 35 countries. Out of these, 44 are currently testing CBDC programs.
The data shows that more than 65 countries, such as India, Australia, and Brazil, are very far along in developing CBDC. These countries are either in the trial, launch, or almost launch stages. All 20 countries in the G20 are now working on CBDC research, and 19 of them have moved on to more advanced steps.
CBDC Adoption Still Limited
Even though there is a lot of interest, only three countries—The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria—have fully started central bank digital currencies . These countries are now trying to make adoption easier in their own countries.
The study also says that central bank digital currencies are being used in politics, especially by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), which are testing them out as possible alternatives to the U.S. dollar.
Cross-border central bank digital currencies projects have grown a lot since Russia invaded Ukraine and the G7 put sanctions in place. More than a dozen projects are trying to connect banking systems in places like China, Thailand, and the UAE.
