Signal 100 jurisdictions exploring central bank digital currencies

Summary

According to the report, central bank digital currencies have grown in popularity in recent years, with 100 jurisdictions exploring their use. They resemble cryptocurrencies but are issued by a central bank and pegged to the national fiat currency, such as the US dollar, the euro or the British pound. The report presents them, alongside distributed ledger technology and decentralised finance, as one strand of emerging financial systems. Such systems can raise efficiency, access and security but also make financial activity harder to track and regulate and more exposed to cyber attack. In November 2024 HM Treasury published its National Payments Vision, aiming for a trusted payments ecosystem built on next generation technology.