According to a local National News Agency report, Lebanon’s central bank has become the latest monetary regulator to move towards the launch of a central bank digital currency and plans to launch by next year. The initiative of the central bank was confirmed by its governor Riad Salameh. The governor believes that this move will reinstate public confidence in the Lebanese banking industry and transition into a cashless system. Several central banks around the world are actively exploring CBDCs. China is all set to issue digital yuan to the general public.
Lebanon continues to witness economic crises.
Lebanon’s economy is currently in crisis, and the ties of the private banks with its government also created chaos as the country defaulted on its debts in March. The governor pointed out that the Lebanese citizens now store around $10 billion in cash at their homes. “Lebanon doesn’t have any natural resources, and we have to keep the gold because it’s an asset that could be liquidated in foreign markets if we face an inevitable, fateful crisis,” Salameh told the local news.
Central banks across the world continue to explore CBDCs.
Lebanon’s central bank’s plan to introduce a digital currency is not an abrupt one as the governor already revealed in mid-2019 that the central bank is working on such a project. Several major central banks are now actively researching central bank digital currencies and making plans for real-world testing. Though many smaller economies have already launched versions of their digital currencies, China is the only major one to complete the development and initiating a full-fledged plan to test digital yuan. As reported earlier, the Cayman island launched a national digital currency this year. Countries including Canada, Japan, the Philippines, and many others are actively exploring CBDCs.
