About 134 countries, constituting 98% of the representing 98% of global GDP, are currently exploring a CBDC. With almost 50% at the pilot stage, countries like China, Nigeria, and the Bahamas have already launched theirs.
The Research Report Findings
The U.S.-based Atlantic Council think-tank released a new research report on Tuesday that presented the exploration of central bank digital currencies, also called CBDCs, by all G20 nations. The research also shows that 44 countries in all are currently on the CBDC pilot stage.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the country’s CBDC, eNaira in October 2021.
Also, Nigeria became the first African country to launch a CBDC known as eNaira and second in the world after the Bahamas, which launched “Sand Dollar”, in October 2020.
The research indicates a surge, considering a year ago, the number of countries actively piloting CBDCs was 36.
The Atlantic Council’s Josh Lipsky and Ananya Kumar indicated that one of the most significant developments this year has been the substantial increase in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria’s CBDCs, which are the only three countries that have already launched them.
China, too, which is running the world’s largest pilot scheme, has seen the use of its prototype e-CNY nearly quadruple to 7 trillion yuan ($987B) of transactions according to officials.
According to Lipsky, “There has been a narrative that the countries that have launched CBDCs have seen low or no usage, but in the last months, we have seen a real uptake.”
“My prediction is that the PBOC (China’s central bank) will be close to full launch a year from now,” he added.
On the other hand, there have been other massive advancements taking place, like the European Central Bank’s launch of a multi-year digital euro-pilot as well as the United States, which has long dragged its feet on a digital dollar, joining a cross-border CBDC project with six other major central banks.
Moreover, Nigeria launched the eNaira in October 2021, and it became the world’s second CBDC to be launched. However, the eNaira has struggled with adoption, even following devastating cash shortages. One of the major causes for setbacks can be attributed to the unfriendly crypto environment from Nigeria regulators.
What You Should Know
Early this year, CBN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a blockchain firm, Gluwa, to drive the increased adoption of the eNaira. Gluwa, being the CBN’s official Partner Agent, will integrate its Credal blockchain innovation directly with eNaira as a first step towards deepened collaboration.
Discover more from DiutoCoinNews
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
