The Bank for International Settlements released a special chapter from that annual report on digital payments, concerning central bank digital currencies. The report released by the leading global central bank institution encourages central banks to treat CBDCs as their future, saying: “One option at the frontier of policy opportunities is the issuance of CBDCs, which could amount to a sea change.”
The report reveals an uptick in positive statements regarding CBDCs.
The Bank for International Settlement found that there had been a major bullish shift in sentiment for CBDCs since the beginning of this year. The report showed the there have been more positive speeches about CBDCs in this year. According to the report, the positive sentiment towards central bank digital currencies has been triggered due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. The report cites increased precautionary holdings of cash, commerce moving online, and the fact that “the public is more concerned about viral transmission of the virus from the cash. Central banks all around the world are researching CBDCs, and some are close to issuing to the general public.
China to become the first major nation to issue a CBDC.
The People’s Bank of China has been researching its centralized digital currency from the last 5 to 6 years. China is likely to become the first major nation to issue central bank-backed digital currency dubbed DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment). The digital version of yuan is currently being tested in four cities in the country and is expected to launch sometime in the future. Some experts have claimed that the digital version of yuan could potentially threaten the global dominance of the US dollar. Earlier, a former official of the PBoC revealed that the backend architecture of DCEP is complete. The central bank of Canada recently posted a job opening for a CBDC project manager.
