The study by the American think tank Atlantic Council, published on Wednesday, indicated that all the G20 countries, with the exception of Argentina, are in one of these advanced phases.
Eleven countries, including several in the Caribbean and Nigeria, have already launched central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as they are known, while pilot tests in China already reach 260 million people and cover 200 scenarios, from trade e-mail to government aid payments.
Two other big emerging economies, India and Brazil, are also planning to launch digital currencies next year. The European Central Bank is on track to start its digital euro pilot project ahead of a possible launch in 2028, while 20 other countries will also take significant steps towards pilot projects this year.
In the United States, however, actions towards a digital dollar are only “advancing” in its wholesale (bank-to-bank) version, according to research by the Atlantic Council, while work on a version for the general population is “stalled.” “.
In March 2022, US President Joe Biden directed government officials to assess the risks and benefits of creating a digital dollar.
The weight of the dollar in the financial system means that any US measure could have enormous consequences on a global scale, but the Federal Reserve already said in January that it is Congress, and not it, that must decide whether to launch a digital version.
The global push for CBDCs comes at a time when the use of physical cash is declining and authorities are trying to fend off the threat posed by bitcoin and “big tech” to their money-printing capabilities.
Sanctions imposed on countries like Russia and Venezuela in recent years have been another driver, including for US allies like Europe, which wants to secure an alternative to Visa, Mastercard and Swift payment networks.
“Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the response to G7 sanctions, wholesale CBDC developments have doubled,” the Atlantic Council stated, adding that 12 multinational “cross-border” projects are currently in the works.
Sweden remains one of the most advanced European countries with its CBDC pilot project, while the Bank of England is still evaluating a potential digital sterling that could go live in the second half of this decade. Australia, Thailand, South Korea and Russia also plan to continue their pilot tests this year.