By Marc Jones
LONDON (Reuters) – Nearly a third of central banks have pushed back launching digital versions of their currencies, a new survey shows, although a desire to protect their money-minting powers mean most still intend to go ahead.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are back in the spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump banned work on a digital dollar in one of his first moves after regaining power last month.
The survey rounds published on Tuesday were completed before that announcement, but the central banks that took part had been asked whether they were now cooling on CBDCs, given the issues around such assets.
It found 67% had not changed their stance over the past year, with three-quarters planning to issue one and a steady 19% saying they did not intend to do so.
Other findings were more mixed, however. The share of central banks inclined to issue one dropped slightly, while the proportion now less inclined to issue one is 15%, compared to zero in 2022.
“There is a clear hesitancy around the subject,” the survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) think tank and German-based banknote firm Giesecke+Devrient said.
“Very few (central banks) have so far taken the decision to issue, despite a great deal of exploratory work.”
The firm said 31% had delayed their CBDC timelines, including nearly half of those that hope to have one ready within three to five years.
Supporters of digital currencies say they could make 24/7, real-time, cross-currency payments a reality and are a natural alternative to physical cash, which seems in terminal decline.
Opponents, though, argue that advances can be achieved with existing systems. Public protests have focused on one of U.S. President Trump’s main criticisms – denied by central bankers – that governments could use them for snooping.
The survey showed that “preserving central bank monetary sovereignty” remained a top motivation for introducing a CBDC, especially in major economies like the euro zone.
Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology CEO Wolfram Seidemann noted that one of the European Central Bank’s top policymakers recently said a digital euro would counterbalance Trump’s U.S. drive for ‘stablecoins’ – a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the dollar.
Stablecoins are run for profit by privately owned groups. If they become too dominant the worry is that would take away the money, or “seigniorage”, countries earn from printing their own currencies and the power they wield through them.
“I’m sure others will have a similar view,” Seidemann said referring to the ECB’s stance.
The other “elephant in the room”, he said, was the ongoing concern around privacy and the intertwined risk that barely anyone ends up using a launched CBDC, given they also do not yet offer a significant advance in terms of what people can do with them.
Jamaica, the Bahamas, Nigeria and China have all had this issue and it was the biggest worry for around 55% of the emerging market central banks the survey asked.
(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
