Research Tools: “Atlantic Council Releases New State-of-the-Art Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Tracker”

From the Atlantic Council:

The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center today launched a state-of-the-art Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Tracker, offering an unprecedented global look at the adoption of digital currency. The original version of the tracker– launched in April 2020– has been used by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of International Settlements, and news outlets across the world to help understand the decisions countries are making in this rapidly advancing space.

The new interactive database released today features 81 countries, more than double the number of countries the GeoEconomics Center identified as being active in CBDC development in 2020.

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In the United States, the Federal Reserve remains sluggish in its progress. Of the four largest central banks in the world (the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England), the Federal Reserve is the only one to not commit to a digital currency test project.

Other key findings show that as of July 1, five countries have fully launched CBDCs, with the Bahamas being the first nation to reach wide distribution. Of the remaining 76 countries, 33 are in research, 15 in development, and 14 in pilot stage, including major economies like Sweden and South Korea.

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In addition to tracking individual country progress, the database shows the specific technology and security choices countries are making in their CBDC designs. This research suggests that without standards and international coordination the financial system may be headed for a significant currency interoperability problem in the future.

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

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