Basel-headquartered Bank of International Settlement (BIS) has published a survey report revealing global central banks’ stance towards digital currencies and stablecoins. The survey found out that two-thirds of the participant central banks are studying central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, but most of their research is still in the early stage. Central banks across countries are actively studying digital currencies, and some smaller economies have already successfully issued CBDC to the general public. Earlier, BIS and central banks had published a report laying key requirements for CBDCs.
The BIS received responses from 65 central banks.
The banking body received responses from 65 central banks, representing 72 percent of the world population and 91 percent of the global economic output. “Most central banks are now exploring the case for CBDCs in some way and, overall, the survey indicates a continuous move from purely conceptual research to experimentation and pilot projects. Yet despite these developments, a widespread rollout of CBDCs still seems some way off,” the BIS survey report stated. The latest survey came over a year after the BIS conducted a similar questioning of the monetary regulators on their stance CBDCs.
China leads the CBDC race.
The People’s Bank of China is leading the global counterparts with the ongoing mass pilot across major cities. European central banks are also moving fast with their digital euro preparations, while the Indian monetary regulator has become the latest to jump into the CBDC wagon. The central banks, however, are still skeptical towards digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The BIS even cited the 2020 crypto rally for calling this asset class’ speculative.’ “When it comes to cryptocurrencies, central banks continue to see these as niche products with no widespread use as a means of payment,” the BIS report added.
