In the CBDC Race, It’s Better to Be Last

There are at least four countries that have either scrapped or halted CBDC plans so far, and each central bank has its own reasoning for not launching one. As countries around the world race to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), some jurisdictions have slowed down or dropped out of the race altogether.While many observers were pushing a narrative of urgency around CBDCs, some countries have decided that launching a CBDC isn’t currently necessary, while others have tested CBDCs only to dismiss them.Each country had its own reasons, with global central banks providing very....

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed that the BNB Chain will play a role in Republic of Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central Asian country has been in the race for a CBDC since May 2021. As the country’s central bank announced late last year, a decision on the feasibility of launching a CBDC […]

Amid the global CBDC race, the Canadian central bank does not currently see a strong case for issuing a state digital currency. The Bank of Canada does not see a strong reason for issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC at the moment.Timothy Lane, the Bank of Canada’s deputy governor and head of research at the bank’s fintech and crypto department, spoke on CBDC issues at a Wednesday panel, Reuters reports.According to the official, the Canadian central bank is now focused on CBDC implementations in more concrete terms, thinking about how it might work and look. However, the Bank....

The president of Peru’s central bank has indicated that the country will be joining forces with India, Singapore, and Hong Kong to develop its own central bank digital currency. The president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru Julio Velarde announced that his country will be entering the global race to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).At the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE) with business leaders in Lima on Nov. 16 he said: “I think the payment system we are going to have eight years from now in the world is going to be completely different from the current one… Even....

The notion of China racing to launch a CBDC that will end U.S. monetary supremacy doesn't hold up if you look at the facts on the ground. For the past several years, the trade war between China and the U.S. has been at the center of international relations, with technology playing an outsized role.Within crypto, advancing interest in central bank digital currencies has become part of that narrative of geopolitical competition. Many have framed the development of CBDCs in China and the U.S. as a race — in which case, China is clearly closer to launch and, hence, the “winner.” But a race to....