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List OF Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

In this guide, we will focus on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the list of Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) list, and how many Countries Have Launched a Central Bank Digital Currency.

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The days of cryptocurrency have passed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destroyed the perception of Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset. The digital currency’s price fell to its lowest since December 2020 at roughly $18,000 per Bitcoin in early July. NFTs, a different blockchain asset, too suffered an unexpected decline in value due to the once overly optimistic market. However, a different method of using cryptocurrencies is becoming more and more common while demonstrating another aspect of blockchain payments. In contrast to Bitcoin and other first-generation crypto goods, central bank digital currencies are governed by governments similarly to traditional currencies.

Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency
Photo credit: Simplilearn

Overview of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

A brand-new currency that solely exists in digital form is called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). To make digital transactions and transfers easier, the central bank creates widely used digital coins rather than issuing money. To introduce and elaborate on the concept of CBDC, Central Banks from across the world have been exploring it. Central Bank Digital Currency traces this innovation’s technological progress and the requirements that led to the decision to develop a new digital currency. The research looks at various technical and economic design options that could be set up for a CBDC, describing the effects and outcomes of these options on our daily lives and payment practices and weighing the benefits against the hazards.

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One of the most critical questions is the Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency and how CBDCs might affect the financial and economic system. The overview shows how the CBDC concept might be a game-changer and have the power to alter the foundations of the existing banking system.

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What is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and How is CBDC different from Cryptocurrency

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List of Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

These are the Countries Developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

1 .Russia

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In October 2017, the Bank of Russia first revealed its intentions to introduce a digital rupee. According to the nation’s central bank, a CBDC would lower the cost of payment services, encourage financial institution competition, offer individuals in regions with limited access to financial infrastructure a convenient way to pay, and lessen Russia’s reliance on the U.S. dollar. The digital rupee will be developed on a hybrid architecture that combines the central Bank of Russia’s control with distributed ledger technology (DLT). Russia intends to make the CBDC accessible offline, in contrast to other nations creating digital currencies.

​​ The Bank of Russia announced a collaboration with 12 banks in June 2021, among them Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, and Alfa Bank. Russia declared in December 2021 that a working prototype of the digital rupee had been created, and several test transactions had been completed.

2. Brazil

Since at least 2020, Brazil has been investigating a CDBC following the successful launch of PIX, a system for immediate payments developed by the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB). Over 60% of the adult population are PIX users, and there have been 7 billion transactions conducted. Brazil has the infrastructure to support a digital currency; therefore, the BCB said it would introduce a trial program for the digital real in 2022, with a full release anticipated in 2024.

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3. The United States

The Federal Reserve Bank has expressed interest in CBDCs, even though there are no definite plans for the U.S. to introduce a digital currency. The Federal Reserve issued a much-anticipated report in January 2022 that provided economic context and assessed the advantages and disadvantages of CBDCs. The Fed referred to this report as the “first step” in issuing a CBDC.

4. Ukraine

The National Bank of Ukraine, since 2016, has been investigating the prospect of launching a national digital currency. The nation is currently preparing for a pilot test of its own CBDC. Oleksandr Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, stated that the upcoming pilot “would serve as a technological base for issuing electronic money and is the next essential step to develop payment and financial infrastructure innovation in Ukraine.”

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5. Canada

Although discussions have been ongoing since 2020, the Bank of Canada still needs a firm date for the start of the CBDC. It is currently in development.

6. Pakistan

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The administration first revealed its CBDC plans in April 2019. It has designated 2025 as the deadline for issuing a CBDC.

How Many Countries Have Launched a Central Bank Digital Currency?

The popularity of digital currencies is currently growing. This development is made possible by the widespread acceptance of these transactional methods. Although the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies made them very popular, governments worldwide are attempting to capitalize on virtual currencies differently. They can do this by using a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which the central bank will manage. It essentially represents a nation’s fiat currency in digital form. A digital currency under centralized control has already been introduced in the Bahamas, Nigeria, and seven other Eastern Caribbean Union nations.

  • The Bahamas

The Central Bank of the Bahamas introduced the Sand Dollar in October of that year. It was the first CBDC in history to encompass an entire nation.

  • Nigeria

Nigeria established a CBDC in October 2021, becoming the first nation in Africa to do so. The eNaira is saved in a digital wallet and may be used for money transfers and contactless in-store payments.

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  • Eastern Caribbean Union

Seven Eastern Caribbean Union countries developed their digital currency to help in speedy transactions and serve those without bank accounts. The seven countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.

CBDCs are already being tested in a few countries:

  • India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would implement a digital rupee at some point in the 2022–2023 fiscal year, which starts on April 1, 2022, according to an announcement by India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February 2022. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the digital rupee following its plans on November 2, making India one of the biggest economies to do so.

  • Sweden

A digital currency called the e-krona, created in Sweden, is currently being tested. Testing will go from a setting with made-up people to one with actual participation.

  • China

China became the first major economy to test digital money in April 2020. By 2022, the People’s Bank of China hopes that the e-CNY, or digital yuan, will be widely accepted throughout China.

  • Jamaica

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated that the Bank of Jamaica would introduce a digital Jamaican dollar in 2022 following a successful test last year.

Conclusion 

Nine countries have so far established CBDCs, seven of which are in the Caribbean. Nigeria is the most recent nation to issue a CBDC, having introduced the e-Naira in October 2021. The number of central banks creating digital fiat will only rise as physical cash transactions become less common and more nations consider the advantages of digital money.

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