The second-largest professional services firm PwC revealed that more than 80% of banks are considering or have already launched a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
In its 2nd edition of the PwC Global CBDC Index and newly created Stablecoin Overview, the firm tries to gauge a central bank’s level of maturity to deploy its own digital currency. For the first time, the report also covered an overview of stablecoins.
Haydn Jones, the Director and Blockchain and Crypto Specialist at PwC U.K. remarked, “Over 80% of central banks are considering launching a CBDC or have already done so.”
He also noted that stablecoins are emerging as a complement to the existing payment ecosystem, with market capitalisation reaching around USD 190 billion in early 2022.
He pointed out that when it comes to levels of maturity with CBDCs, countries are at differing levels and each country has different motivating factors. He further commented, “Increasing financial inclusion, facilitating cross border payments and controlling financial crime are all factors that come into play. We expect CBDC research, testing and implementation will intensify in 2022.”
The report ranks both CBDCs issued by the general public (known as retail CBDC), and also the wholesale CBDCs used by financial institutions holding with the central bank, out of 100.
The report suggests, retail CBDCs have reached a greater level of maturity when compared to their wholesale counterparts. Nigeria’s “eNaira”, for example, received a score of 95, ranking it as the most developed across both the retail and wholesale categories.
Thailand and Hong Kong ranked at the top in the wholesale category for their joint mBridge project which focuses on cross-border payments. Singapore and France also scored well for their continued exploration of CBDC projects.
The report thus offers an overview of the top ten USD-pegged stablecoins by market capital, and discussed their functions and what backs them.
The study concluded that stablecoins are now an “integral part of the crypto ecosystem” and it seems “impossible” for any institution “to be active in crypto without using stablecoins.”
CBDC has long been a gateway for nations towards further crypto exploration. Thus, it’s no wonder that even academics are studying CBDC and its technical implications for a country’s future economics. Recently, The Bank of Canada and MIT announced their collaboration on a twelve-month research project on CBDC.
