In this map, we used data from the Atlantic Council’s Currency Tracker to illustrate the state of each central bank’s digital currency effort.
Digital Currency – The Basics
Digital currencies have been around since the 1980s, but didn’t become widely popular until the launch of Bitcoin in 2009. Today, there are thousands of digital currencies, also referred to as “cryptocurrencies.” A defining characteristic of cryptocurrencies is that they are based on a universal blockchain. Blockchains can be either decentralized or centralized, but the most popular cryptocurrencies today (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) tend to be decentralized in nature. This makes it very difficult to trace transfers and payments because there is no single entity with complete control. Government-issued digital currencies, on the other hand, will be controlled by a central bank and are likely to be easily traceable. They will have the same value as local cash currency, but will be issued digitally without a physical form.
Global Central Bank Digital Currencies
105 countries are currently exploring centralized digital currencies. Together they account for 95% of global GDP. The table below lists the data used in the infographic. CountryStatusUse Case NigeriaLaunchedRetail The BahamasLaunchedRetail JamaicaLaunchedRetail AnguilaLaunchedRetail Saint Kitts and NevisLaunchedRetail Antigua and BarbudaLaunchedRetail MontserratLaunchedRetail DominicaLaunchedRetail Saint LuciaLaunchedRetail Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesLaunchedRetail GrenadaLaunchedRetail SwedenPilotRetail LithuaniaPilotRetail UkrainePilotUndecided KazakhstanPilotRetail RussiaPilotRetail ChinaPilotBoth ThailandPilotBoth Hong KongPilotBoth South KoreaPilotRetail Saudi ArabiaPilotWholesale United Arab EmiratesPilotWholesale SingaporePilotWholesale MalaysiaPilotWholesale South AfricaPilotBoth CanadaDevelopmentBoth BelizeDevelopmentUndecided HaitiDevelopmentBoth VenezuelaDevelopmentBoth BrazilDevelopmentRetail TurkeyDevelopmentRetail IranGrowthRetail BahrainGrowthWholesale IndiaGrowthMauritiusGrowthBhutanGrowthCambodiaGrowthRetailIndonesiaGrowthPalauGrowthAustraliaGrowthJapanDev elopme ntBoth SpainDevelopmentRetail FranceDevelopmentBoth NetherlandsDevelopmentRetail SwitzerlandDevelopmentWholesale ItalyDevelopmentUndecided GermanyDevelopmentUndecided EstoniaDevelopmentRetail LebanonDevelopmentRetail IsraelDevelopmentRetail Euro AreaDevelopmentBoth United StatesResearchRetail MexicoResearchRetail GuatemalaResearchUndecided HondurasResearchUndecided Trinidad andd TobagoResearchUndecided ColombiaResearchUndecided PeruResearchUndecided ParaguayResearchUndecided ChileResearchRetail IcelandResearchRetail UKResearchBoth MoroccoResearchRetail GhanaResearchRetail NamibiaResearchUndecided EswatiniResearchBoth MadagastarResearchRetail ZimbabweResearchUndecided ZambiaResearchUndecided TanzaniaResearchUndecided RwandaResearchUndecided UgandaResearchUndecided KenyaResearchRetail TunisiaResearchWholesale OmanResearchUndecided KuwaitResearchRetail JordanResearchUndecided GeorgiaResearchRetail BelarusResearchUndecided NorwayResearchRetail Czech RepublichResearchUndecided Pakista nRese archRetail NepalResearchUndecided BangladeshResearchUndecided MyanmarResearchUndecided LaosResearchBoth VietnamResearchUndecided MacauResearchUndecided TaiwanResearchBoth PhilippinesResearchRetail New ZealandResearchRetail VanuatuResearchUndecided FijiResearchUndecided TongaResearchUndecided PalestineResearchRetail JordanResearchUndecided AustriaResearchWholesale HungaryResearchRetail BermudaInactiveUndecided Sint MaartenInactiveRetail CuraçaoInactiveRetail ArgentinaInactiveUndecided UruguayInactiveRetail DenmarkInactiveRetail AzerbaijanInactiveUndecided EgyptInactiveUndecided North KoreaInactiveUndecided FinlandInactiveRetail EcuadorCancelledRetail SenegalCancelledRetail When aggregated, we can see that the majority of countries are in the research stage. We have also divided the map by region to make viewing easier.
Africa
Asia
Europe
Middle East
South America
North America
What are the Benefits?
A major advantage of government-issued digital currencies is that they can improve access for the unbanked. This is not a huge issue in developed countries like the US, but many people in developing countries do not have access to banks and other financial services (hence the term underbanked). As the number of Internet users continues to grow, digital currencies represent a good solution. To learn more about this topic, visit this article from Global Finance, which lists the most underbanked countries in the world in 2021.
the 9%
Just 9% of countries have released a digital currency to date. This includes Nigeria, which became the first African country to do so in October 2021. Half of the country’s 200 million population is believed to have no access to bank accounts. The adoption of eNaira (the digital version of the naira) has so far been relatively sluggish. The eNaira app has amassed 700,000 downloads as of April 2022. This equates to 0.35% of the population, although not all downloads are users in Nigeria. In contrast, 33.4 million Nigerians were reported to be trading or owning crypto assets, despite efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to curb usage.
Status in the US
America’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, has not decided whether to implement a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Our primary focus is whether and how a CBDC could improve an already secure and efficient US domestic payments system.– Federal Reserve To learn more, see the Federal Reserve’s January 2022 paper on the pros and cons of CBDCs.
