Which countries have a CBDC?

In response to the global growth of online payment solutions, monetary authorities across the globe are working towards developing their own CBDCs – currencies in their digital forms issued by reserve banks. To put it shortly, CBDCs are digital versions of central bank-issued money that can be listed on the blockchain. Some countries, such as China, already plan to launch their own CBDCs, while others like Canada are on their ways to issue their currencies. So let’s figure out which countries have a CBDC.

Countries that have a CBDC

Based on the Atlantic Council, 81 countries (this constitutes over 90% of worldwide GDP) considered creating a CBDC. Only 30+ countries were learning the possibility to launch a CBDC in May 2020.

China is on the top of the heap, enabling foreigners to apply digital Yuan to submit passport data to the People’s Bank of China for the Olympics. The US Fed is the furthest behind the other largest monetary authorities, the ECB, the Bank of Japan, and the UK central bank.

The first CBDC to become widely accessible was the Bahamian Sand Dollar. Generally, as for now, many nations, along with large economies like Sweden and South Korea, are currently introducing pilot versions or filly launching CBDCs. This list encompasses the following countries:

1. China – realized its’s digital renminbi or Digital Currency/Electronic Payments (DCEP) initiative. It is suggested that DCEP will apply DLT, and is created for the purpose of replacing cash in turnover, and will be shared via e-wallets.
2. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas – there was created the SandDollar, an electronic version of its B$, which is considered to be the first operational CBDC. It makes e-payment technologies more available to underserved communities. To use it, users will be obliged to go through KYC and AML compliance procedures.
3. The Marshall Islands – The CBDC of these islands is Marshallese Sovereign, a currency based on the Algorand blockchain whose primary goal is to boost financial inclusion.
4. Sweden – In 2017, the central bank of Sweden start piloting a CBDC called e-krona because of the reduced use of cash in retail payments.
5. The European Union – The ECB has also planned the launch of a CBDC, the so-called “digital EUR”, arguing that it could be an option to adapt to the in-progress digital conversion of the worldwide financial system.
6. Other currencies.

Alongside the above-mentioned projects, the UK, South Korea, Canada, and others are working on the creation of CBDCs as well. Whilst the USA does not yet plane to create such a currency, the Fed has stated that it is learning how it could update the USD in the coming years.

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