The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that its recent survey of central banks indicated a widespread global interest in exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with 94% of central banks actively involved. This marks a significant increase in experimentation and pilot projects, particularly focused on wholesale CBDCs.

The findings, detailed in the report titled “Embracing Diversity, Advancing Together,” highlighted that central banks are proceeding cautiously and adopting diverse approaches to CBDC implementation and design. Motivations behind CBDC exploration include safeguarding the role of central bank money amidst the emergence of privately issued digital currencies, enhancing domestic payment efficiency, promoting financial inclusion, and improving cross-border payment systems.

The survey underscored the growing interest and efforts among central banks to develop CBDCs, with a notable trend towards wholesale applications gaining momentum, especially in advanced economies.

Key differences were observed in the design preferences between advanced economies and emerging markets, with the latter showing a stronger preference for distributed ledger technology (DLT) and transaction limits.

Additionally, the survey explored the use of stablecoins and other digital assets, revealing that stablecoins are predominantly utilized within the crypto ecosystem for trading and decentralized finance (DeFi) activities. Their adoption for mainstream payment purposes remains limited, despite their market capitalization exceeding $161 billion as of May 2024.

Central banks noted that stablecoins are primarily used by niche groups for remittances and retail payments rather than by the broader public, such as accounting for approximately 5% of remittances to Mexico. Regulatory concerns persist regarding stablecoins' potential impact on financial stability and payment systems, prompting regulatory efforts focused on investor protection, consumer safety, financial stability, and combating illicit activities.