Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) will reportedly launch its Drex central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2026. Project lead Fabio Araujo said the rollout will come in two phases, with the initial phase dropping tokenization and the decentralized blockchain-based design it had piloted due to immature privacy solutions that failed to meet bank-grade confidentiality and verifiability standards. This shift means several programmable use cases tested in pilots won’t be available at launch, and there’s no guarantee Drex will continue using Hyperledger Besu, the Ethereum-compatible platform previously chosen. The first release will focus on a lien reconciliation solution to enable credit operations with various types of collateral, with details on supporting tools yet to be announced. Drex has been through several iterations, the first focusing on retail CBDC, the second on wholesale CBDC-backed tokenized deposits, and then this third iteration, which could be either retail or wholesale CBDC. [Read more at Bitcoin.com]
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is reportedly again exploring the possibility of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central bank is starting by conducting a CBDC consumer survey to solicit opinions on the design and nature of the CBDC and its overall acceptance by the public. In November 2021, the Cabinet mandated the RBZ to explore the feasibility of a CBDC. Since then, the RBZ has undertaken study tours to countries in the advanced stages of CBDC development, and has drawn up a roadmap for potential CBDC adoption in Zimbabwe. [Read more at Bulawayo]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
Bolivia Taps El Salvador for Crypto Regulation Guidance (Coingeek) The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) signed a memorandum of understanding with El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) to promote mutual cooperation, information exchange, and technical-regulatory knowledge on digital assets, including blockchain analytics and risk analysis. The agreement, signed by CNAD President Juan Carlos Reyes García and BCB Acting President Edwin Rojas Ulo, aims to leverage El Salvador’s experience as a crypto-asset regulatory pioneer to help Bolivia develop secure, regulated ecosystems that attract investment and support families and small entrepreneurs; it takes effect immediately and indefinitely. [Read more at the BCB]
Ethena’s USDe stablecoin has experienced remarkable growth in 2025, with its market capitalization surging to over $8.4 billion, making it the third-largest stablecoin behind USDT and USDC. USDe is a “synthetic dollar” backed by crypto-assets, and liquid staking tokens rather than currency-matched high-quality liquid assets (HQLA). When users mint USDe by depositing crypto-asset collateral, Ethena simultaneously opens an equivalent short position in perpetual futures markets, creating a delta-neutral hedge that offsets price movements in the underlying assets. The protocol generates yield through funding rates from perpetual swap positions and staking rewards on liquid ETH, which is distributed to holders of sUSDe (staked USDe). However, this mechanism carries risks, particularly during periods of negative funding rates in bear markets, which could erode the protocol’s reserves and threaten the peg stability. [Read more at AInvest]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
A forthcoming Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper compares the European Union’s MiCAR and the U.S. GENIUS Act approaches to regulating stablecoins. Both embody contrasting regulatory philosophies for stablecoin oversight. MiCAR establishes a dual categorization of stablecoins—asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs)—with tailored regimes for each, emphasizing comprehensive conduct obligations, strict liability for misleading disclosures, mandatory asset segregation, and strong, statutory redemption rights applicable to all holders. In contrast, the GENIUS Act defines a single “payment stablecoin” category, prioritizing operational requirements and, most distinctively, providing unprecedented legal protections in bankruptcy: it grants all holders statutory standing, excludes reserves from the bankruptcy estate, and gives stablecoin holder claims super-priority over all other creditors. While MiCAR relies on strict consumer protection rules and regulatory controls, the GENIUS Act centers its strongest protections around insolvency outcomes and allows for the development of additional consumer safeguards through future rulemaking, resulting in two robust but philosophically distinct approaches to stablecoin regulation. [Download the paper at SSRN]
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an article that analyzes why cash remains a vital means of payment in the euro area despite long-standing predictions of a cashless society. Using recent data (2019–2024), it finds that while digital payments are growing and the share of cash in transactions is declining—especially among younger and middle-aged people—cash continues to play important roles: older adults use it more for everyday purchases, younger people often keep cash at home for precautionary reasons, and all age groups increasingly view it as an important payment option. The resilience of cash is shaped by overlapping factors such as habit, limited substitutability of digital payments, privacy and crisis concerns, and demographic shifts—meaning future payment systems should ensure continued access to and acceptance of cash alongside digital options, supporting payment choice, inclusion, and economic stability. [Read more at the ECB]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recognized a joint dismissal of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal in the lawsuit over XRP. This has been going on since late 2020, when the SEC sued Ripple in a federal court, accusing it of selling the token XRP as an unregistered security. A federal judge delivered a mixed ruling in July 2023, finding some tokens could be considered securities, and ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in fines to the SEC, far lower than the agency’s $2 billion request. The fine and ruling triggered the regulator to appeal, which Ripple then cross-appealed. The earlier this year (2025) the two came to a settlement and filed a request to dissolve the injunction and lower the $125 million fine against Ripple. [Read more at The Court Listener]
National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Chairman Andriy Pyshny revealed the central bank’s preparations for an e-hryvnia central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. The NBU already has an understanding of the potential architecture model and is currently completing the search for a technological partner. This is at least the third time that the NBU has considered issuing a CBDC, starting in 2019 with a proof-of concept (POC) and then restarting its e-hryvnia research in 2022, so maybe the third time is the charm!? [Read more at RBC-Ukraine]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
Technology Solutions to Support CBDC with Limited Connectivity: A Review of Existing Approaches (IMF)
SODA’s Chris Ostrowski and I were part of the team behind a Fintech Note that the IMF published that examines technology solutions for enabling central bank digital currency (CBDC) operations in environments with limited or no connectivity. The paper analyzes various technological approaches across a spectrum of connectivity scenarios, from complete offline functionality to SMS/USSD-based systems that work on basic cellular networks. Through interviews with payment platform providers, central banks, and industry experts, different form factors (smartphones, feature phones, stored-value cards, and custom devices) are evaluated against three key criteria: accessibility and usability, cybersecurity and operational risks, and privacy considerations. The research reveals that no single solution meets all requirements, necessitating tailored combinations of technologies based on local infrastructure and user needs. Key findings indicate that while fully secure offline solutions do not yet exist, effective risk mitigation strategies through transaction limits, secure elements, and staged reconciliation have been successfully tested in pilot environments. The paper concludes that successful offline CBDC deployment requires ongoing technological agility, diverse access channels, and proactive risk management over unattainable absolute security. [Read more at the IMF]
However, like many other papers that cover offline payments, the IMF Fintech Note focuses mainly on wallet-to-wallet considerations and gives only a light touch to the “plumbing” by which wallets interact and reconcile with online “core” ledgers. The rest of this blog rectifies this omission, focusing on the Crunchfish Digital Cash (CDC) L2 solution as a viable augmentation to a CBDC payment system with its novel packet-switched architecture delivered by a modular and cost-effective architecture. [See PDF version at the end of this post]
Rethinking CBDC Retail Payments with Crunchfish Digital Cash Layer-2 Architecture
A Practical Approach to Secure, Scalable, and Interoperable Digital Currency Transactions
The future of digital payments hinges on balancing cost, resilience, and seamless integration, bridging traditional infrastructure gaps while gearing solutions for next-generation financial landscapes. This note highlights Crunchfish Digital Cash (CDC) as a viable augmentation to a central bank digital currency (CBDC) payment system with its novel packet-switched architecture delivered by a modular and cost- effective architecture providing any underlying payment system with multiple desired design features.
Crunchfish is rethinking payments in all shapes and forms – online, offline, and even cash payments. This note briefly describes the Crunchfish Digital Cash (CDC) Layer-2 (L2) payment solution and how it augments CBDC Layer-1 (L1) systems with multiple desirable design features, such as resilience, privacy, security, scalability, interoperability, universality, seamlessness, and cost effectiveness.
Central banks are almost unanimous in their view that the ability of a CBDC to function offline is not merely a technical consideration but a key requirement. And that has spawned a growing literature on the topic from the official sector, the latest addition to which is a recently published IMF Fintech Note . However, like many other papers on offline payments, it focuses mainly on Wallet-to-Wallet considerations and gives only a light touch to the “plumbing” by which wallets interact and reconcile with online “core” ledgers. Although many vendors of offline payment solutions say that their platforms allow for indefinite operation offline, central banks are insisting that Wallets be regularly reconciled with the central ledger, to mitigate double spending risk and for financial integrity risk monitoring purposes. This note aims to rectify this omission, focusing on Crunchfish’s patented CDC L2 solution.[1]
Introducing CDC: Reserve, Pay, Settle
CDC uses a Reserve, Pay and Settle approach (RPS) that assigns a value to a Wallet, reserved on the central ledger, that limits the amount a user can pay offline. To initiate an offline payment, the payer generates and transmits a cryptographically signed digital IOU (“I owe you”) to the payee for an amount that accumulated, may not exceed the reserved value. The digital IOU can be validated by the payee in offline mode, and the digital credit amount may be used by the payee to make further offline payments, without synchronizing online. When either party goes online to synchronize their ledgers the digital IOUs are also validated in a Gateway before committing it on L1. This triggers a transfer of value on the central ledger from the payer’s reservation to the payee.
Recently, the Bank of Canada opined favorably on the MIT Digital Currency Initiative’s OpenCBDC two-phase commit (2PC) retail CBDC architecture. Like Crunchfish’s RPS approach, 2PC transaction processing involves a core system update (corresponding to the RPS L1) and a wallet-to-wallet transfer (L2), with a “sentinel” checking the integrity of wallet-to-wallet transactions before core system processing. CDC L2 generalizes 2PC by also supporting offline payments.. Crunchfish’s RPS approach has been trialled by the Swedish Riksbank, albeit on cards only, in the fourth and last phase of the e-krona project. In general, the payment industry should be no stranger to Crunchfish’s approach as it is a generalization of card payments and smart contracts.
CDC is agnostic as to whether the Wallet is implemented in a hardware secure element (HSE) or a software-based virtual secure element (VSE). The security and scalability implications of this choice was discussed in the IMF Fintech Note and summarized in Table 2 . It should be noted that HSE-based solutions are challenging to scale as no ecosystem exists to deploy and upgrade a trusted payment application across multiple mobile device models and multiple mobile network operators. This is contrasted by the easy deployment and upgrading of VSE-based trusted payment applications using standard app store ecosystems, plus the lower cost. Also, the security level for a VSE-based trusted payment application is homogeneous across mobile device models and only dependent on the isolating runtime layer provided by the integrated VSE, that mitigates double spending risks. CDC’s Wallets are therefore implemented currently using a VSE security foundation.
CDC is an approved offline payment solution by the Reserve Bank of India for regulated entities since 2023 and Crunchfish is working with the National Payments Corporation of India to introduce Terminals into their payment networks. Also, Crunchfish is participating in the European Central Bank’s digital euro innovation platform demonstrating three offline payment use cases with online settlement as an implementation of conditional payments, also known as smart contracts .
There are however many additional aspects that define how implementable a CBDC offline solution is in practice than just discussing the use of hardware vs. software-based secure elements. The rest of this note highlights such differences by contrasting Crunchfish’s CDC with CBDC L1 systems.
Beyond Wallets: CDC as a Holistic Solution
CDC is built with Wallets, Terminals, and Gateway components with the purpose of mitigating inherent vulnerabilities in underlying L1 payment systems. It is designed to respect the roles and responsibilities of payment networks and service providers. Whereas payment service providers equip users with Wallets to initiate and make payments, payment networks need Terminals and Gateways to receive and accept payments. This clear separation of an offline payment system allows for flexibility, scalability, and healthy market competition by ecosystem participants and protects the integrity of the CBDC payment system from Wallet transactions initiated off the central ledger.
CDC allows homogeneous handling of privacy for online and offline payments managed by the banks and intermediaries. It may also be configured to incorporate anonymity and privacy thresholds. Low-value offline transactions could be allowed to be completely anonymous, whereas higher-value online and offline payments may be private up to a threshold, and beyond such threshold system traceability is required. In addition, CDC provides cross-network and cross-border interoperability, universality and seamless online and offline operation. It augments the underlying CBDC L1 system as it works across devices, regardless of proximity interaction methods.
Crunchfish’s CDC ranks consistently on top when it comes to all design aspects, such as security, scalability, resilience, privacy, interoperability, universality, seamlessness, and cost. This makes it an ideal implementation companion to any CBDC L1 system. To learn more about Crunchfish and its offerings check out the homepage here, and more CDC L2 technical detail can be found here.
The Future of Payments: A Packet-Switched Architecture
CDC is based on a packet-switched architecture. This provides survivability in the face of failure on the application level, just as the internet provided resilience to digital communication. This is important to bring resilience and load balancing for online transactions. Crunchfish’s signature RPS approach implemented with its CDC L2 solution allows distributed processing for offline use cases and leverages core banking systems for reconciliation. There is simply no need for an adjunct offline payment system or adjunct centralized offline payment reconciliation system for that matter. What is required is a seamlessly integrated packet-switched L2 system that respects the roles and responsibilities in the payment ecosystem.
[1] Crunchfish foundational patent application with priority from January 2020 has been validated in 22 European countries, in the United States and Taiwan. It is patent pending in India and China. Crunchfish has also filed 14 additional patent applications on adjacent aspects, of which about half have already been granted and the others are pending being reviewed.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly introduced updated staff guidance aimed at providing accounting clarity for stablecoins. It is expanding its initial crypto accounting rules, allowing certain U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins to be treated as cash equivalents if they come with a guaranteed redemption right. This move is part of the SEC’s broader efforts, under Chair Paul Atkins, to relax previous restrictive policies and encourage traditional lenders to enter the crypto market, while the commission develops more comprehensive regulations for crypto securities. However, I can’t find any new staff guidance on this topic on the SEC website. [Read more at Bloomberg]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
[July 10, 2025] The Bank of Botswana has initiated a central bank digital currency (CBDC) exploration project under the Digital BoB 2024 strategy, conducting research, training, and benchmarking efforts, including learning from the Central Bank of the Bahamas. A multidisciplinary CBDC Working Group has been established in the Bank to assess feasibility, infrastructure, legal frameworks, and the potential impact of a CBDC before making an adoption decision. The BoB had reportedly started exploring CBDC in June 22 but that was never officially conformed. [Read more in the BoB 2024 Annual Report]
A trio of Bank of Canada economists posted a paper on SSRN that analyzes how the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could impact traditional bank deposits by developing a micro-founded model based on Canadian household data. The study finds that a non-interest-bearing CBDC without complementary financial products or an extensive physical service network would only minimally draw funds away from bank deposits (about 1% reduction), but expanding the CBDC’s physical presence (e.g., through Canada Post offices) could crowd out up to 7% of deposits, and only a very extensive network would reach around 12%. Placing holding limits on CBDC accounts (e.g., C$ 25,000 CAD) can significantly reduce this crowding-out effect while affecting the welfare of only a small fraction of households. The paper highlights that bank deposit choices are strongly influenced by complementary services (like mortgages and credit cards) and convenient access to branches. [Read more at SSRN]
[March 6, 2025] Article 53 of Serbia’s Law on the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) was amended to give the central bank the right to issue the dinar in digital form (digital dinar). However, it’s not entirely clear when the amendment was made, except that it was likely in either 2018 (RS Official Gazette, No. 44/2018 published on June 9, 2018) or 2025 (No. 19/2025 published on March 6, 2025). Those are the only two amendments to the Law that make sense from a review of the current consolidated version of the Law, because the next previous amendment (No. 40/2015) was published in 2015 which seems too early in the history of central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be plausible. Even 2018 seems to be on the verge of implausibility, so I’m guessing that the amendment was published on March 6, 2025. [Read more at the NBS]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) outlined the development and planned implementation of its digital dirham central bank digital currency (CBDC). It will be designed for retail and wholesale transactions on a two-tier distribution model using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The digital dirham will be non-interest bearing with tiered holding limits to prevent banking sector disintermediation. The CBUAE has conducted pilots that tested innovative use cases including programmable social payments, tokenized asset ownership, and smart tourist wallets, while establishing the necessary legal framework through amendments to UAE banking law that recognize digital currency as legal tender. Pseudonymity will help safeguard privacy but include digital identity and know-your-customer (KYC) protocols and payment traceability to deter digital dirham’s misuse for illicit purposes. The CBUAE will introduce the digital dirham in phases over the next few years. Meanwhile, to support the CBUAE’s cross-border payment aspirations, the central bank continues to participate in mBridge experiments. [Read more at the CBUAE]
The IMF’s Statistics Department launched a pilot project to collect data on stablecoins, unbacked crypto assets and CBDCs as part of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative 3 (DGI-3). From July 15 to November 15, 2025, all G20 and Financial Stability Board (FSB) participating economies will use agreed templates and guidelines available here: G20 DGI Recommendations. This initiative contributes to measuring the impact of digital money and crypto assets on the economic and financial system. [Read more at the IMF]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
The CB+DC Conference (Nassau, Bahamas, September 9-11) is a premier gathering centered on CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins. It provides a forum for central bankers, commercial bankers, technology innovators, policymakers, and academics to explore the latest advancements in digital currency, engage with experts and peers, and discuss the future of digital currency. [Register here but before you do, email me at john@kiffmeister.com for a 15% discount]
I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
109 central banks (up four since the end-June update) have recently launched, piloted, experimented with and/or researched retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) not including two that started issuing retail CBDC and then shut the platforms down (Ecuador and Finland). The new addition is Myanmar and Timor-Leste, plus backfilling (West African States and Zimbabwe).
Keep in mind that I don’t count all of the individual national central banks that are part of currency unions (e.g., the European or Eastern Caribbean Currency Unions). If I did the tally that way, my count would be 131, which is closer to the oft-quoted Atlantic Council CBDC Tracker‘s 137 central banks. The rest of the difference is comprised of various mostly dubious judgment calls and unsubstantiated projects.
Also, the table was compiled from publicly available sources, including the media and central bank websites, and not verified through official channels. If I’m missing anything, or you find mistakes in the tabulation, please let me know in the comments!
Another thing to note is that I’m not currently including wholesale CBDC-backed retail tokenized deposits, like those being experimented with in the Banco do Brasil Drex proof-of-concept work, and South Korea’s recently launched “CBDC” pilots. I say “currently” because the retail payment instruments being tested do not seem be direct liabilities of the central bank, which means they don’t align with the BIS (2020) CBDC definition I go by (“a digital payment instrument, denominated in the national unit of account, that is a direct liability of the central bank”). However, I don’t know enough about the architectures of these projects from publicly-available information to know for sure whether the tokenized deposits are direct central bank liabilities. I would appreciate it if anyone out there can provide some clarity on this.
BTW for those who want a more historical view of CBDC developments I strongly recommend the CBDCTracker.org database.
Notes: The difference between a “pilot” and “proof of concept” (POC) is that a pilot involves actual users, whereas a POC does not, even though some POCs may involve central bank staff. (Again the Atlantic Council puffs up its numbers with a very loose definition of “pilot”.) Also, because the tabulation is based only on publicly-available information, it is likely that there is some POC activity in the “research” category, but no announcements have been made. Finally, entries that are crossed through indicate that the projects have been shut down. Also, the ones that are crossed out, are where the central bank has considered issuing CBDC but then decided to cancel the research or put it on hold (“watchful waiting”).
