Just four countries have issued a central bank digital currency (CBDC). But the CBDC Tracker suggests that interest in CBDCs is far from moribund. In September 2024 26 central banks had a CBDC at the pilot stage and another 30 at the proof-of-concept stage. A further 103 are researching the idea. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) website lists 20 CBDC research projects in which central banks have taken part since 2016. Just seven central banks have cancelled their

It is universally agreed that lack of fiat currency on blockchains is an obstacle to the growth of digital assets. In cryptocurrencies, market forces solved this problem with the invention of the Stablecoin. Though trivial in value (US$172 billion total market capitalisation in September 2024) by comparison with the value of fiat currencies outstanding (US$215 trillion), Stablecoins have in the year to mid-September 2024 been used by about 180 million active addresses in US$4

The basic choice in digital asset infrastructure projects is between building linkages between systems or building common platforms. The difficulty the digital money and assets industries have encountered already in developing interoperability between platforms is a reminder that links require widespread if not universal agreement between market participants and introduce additional complexities and costs. Common platforms, on the other hand, can in theory achieve success thr

In theory, blockchain is an ideal technology for driving interoperability in financial markets because it puts digital money and digital assets on a single ledger shared with all parties at all times, ending the cost and complexity of coordinating multiple, siloed ledgers through complicated data exchanges between multiple intermediaries, each using proprietary systems, and it operates 24/7.  However, blockchains as they exist today do not conform to this promise. There are d

Tokenised assets issued on to blockchain networks need cash on-chain to create liquidity and drive network effects. Stablecoins and (to a lesser extent) e-money have fulfilled this role so far. Like Stablecoins and e-money, tokenised deposits offer the benefits of instant payment, atomic settlement and programmability via smart contracts.  But tokenised deposits have other advantages. They are a form of digital money underpinned by regulated banks. They preserve the "singlene

Payment services have made significant progress. Since 2008, when the Faster Payments service was introduced in the United Kingdom, instant payment around-the-clock has become a global norm. It is delivered not by blockchain technology but through domestic payments market infrastructures. In fact, payments infrastructures now process higher volumes of low value transactions and inter-bank payments more securely than ever before.  Other innovations are having an impact. Open B

Bitcoin has demonstrably failed to deliver on its initial promises. Although more than 15,000 businesses around the world accept Bitcoin as payment, and both payment service providers and credit card companies are making it easier to move between Bitcoin and fiat currency, it is still extremely hard to spend Bitcoin in a shop or restaurant.  This is not surprising, since the day-to-day value of Bitcoin is so volatile that consumers are reluctant to use it and merchants to acc

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