The Global CBDC Race

130+ Countries and Counting

According to the Atlantic Council's CBDC Tracker, over 130 countries — representing 98% of global GDP — are exploring central bank digital currencies. 11 countries have fully launched a CBDC, 21 are in pilot, and dozens more are in research or development. This is not a niche trend — it's a global monetary shift.

China: The e-CNY (Digital Yuan)

China is the undisputed leader in CBDC development among major economies. The e-CNY (also called Digital Currency Electronic Payment, or DCEP) has been in development since 2014 and in pilot since 2020.

• Status: Pilot in multiple cities including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Xiong'an. Expanded for use at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
• Architecture: Two-tier model — the People's Bank of China (PBOC) issues to commercial banks, which distribute to the public. Uses a centralised ledger, not a public blockchain.
• Transaction volume: Cumulative transactions exceeded ¥1.8 trillion (~£200 billion) by mid-2024, though daily usage remains modest compared to Alipay and WeChat Pay.
• Privacy: "Controllable anonymity" — small transactions are anonymous, large transactions are traceable. This has raised concerns about state surveillance.
• Strategic goal: Reduce dependence on US dollar payment infrastructure, particularly for cross-border trade. The PBOC is working with the mBridge project (a multi-CBDC platform with Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE) for cross-border e-CNY payments.

Nigeria: The eNaira

Nigeria launched the eNaira in October 2021 — the first CBDC in Africa and one of the first in the world.

• Status: Launched, but adoption has been challenging. As of 2024, only about 1% of Nigeria's 220 million population was actively using it.
• Design: Account-based, with tiered wallets — lower tiers require minimal KYC, higher tiers require full identification.
• Push factors: Nigeria has a large unbanked population and high mobile money usage. The eNaira aimed to provide financial inclusion and reduce the cost of cash management.
• What went wrong: Poor public awareness, limited merchant acceptance, and distrust of government. A 2023 currency redesign and cash shortage briefly boosted eNaira adoption, but it didn't stick.
• Lesson: Launching a CBDC is easy; getting people to use it is hard. Consumer adoption requires merchant acceptance, user education, and trust.

Sweden: The e-Krona

Sweden is one of the most cashless societies on Earth — cash is used in under 10% of transactions. The Riksbank has been exploring an e-krona since 2017.

• Status: Advanced pilot phase. The Riksbank has tested a technical platform (based on R3's Corda DLT) with simulated payments, offline functionality, and integration with bank systems.
• Motivation: With cash nearly gone, the Riksbank wants to ensure the public retains access to central bank money. There's also concern about dependence on private payment infrastructure (Swish, cards).
• Design: Token-based e-krona with offline payment capability. The Riksbank is evaluating whether to use DLT or conventional infrastructure.
• Timeline: No launch date set. The Riksbank has proposed that Parliament decide whether to issue an e-krona, and a decision isn't expected before 2026.

The Bahamas: The Sand Dollar

The Bahamas launched the Sand Dollar in October 2020 — the first nationwide CBDC in the world.

• Motivation: The Bahamas is an archipelago of 700+ islands. Physical cash distribution is expensive and difficult. The Sand Dollar aimed to improve financial inclusion across remote islands.
• Status: Live, but adoption remains low. The central bank has been working to increase merchant acceptance and public awareness.
• Design: Account-based, accessed through mobile wallets provided by authorised financial institutions.

The United States: Cautious and Controversial

The US approach to CBDCs has been the most politically charged of any major economy.

• Under the Biden administration: The Fed explored a CBDC through its Project Cedar (a wholesale CBDC experiment) and published a discussion paper in 2022. No decision to build was made.
• Political opposition: Several Republican politicians, including Donald Trump, have explicitly opposed a US CBDC, calling it a surveillance tool. Several states have passed or proposed laws banning CBDCs.
• Under the Trump administration: In 2025, Trump signed an executive order halting CBDC development, effectively killing the US digital dollar for the foreseeable future.
• The irony: The US dollar's dominance in global trade (through SWIFT and dollar-denominated clearing) means the US can afford to wait. But if other CBDCs gain cross-border traction, the US could find itself playing catch-up.

The Eurozone: The Digital Euro

The ECB's digital euro project is covered in detail in our Digital Pound vs Digital Euro guide. In brief: in the preparation phase, with a go/no-go decision expected in 2025–2026.

India: The Digital Rupee

India launched its Digital Rupee (e₹) pilot in December 2022 for wholesale use and January 2023 for retail.

• Status: Active pilot in multiple cities. Over 5 million retail users and 400,000+ merchants by 2024.
• Design: Token-based, distributed through banks. Both wholesale (for interbank settlement) and retail versions.
• Motivation: Reduce cash management costs, improve financial inclusion, and support India's broader digital public infrastructure (UPI, Aadhaar, India Stack).
• Achievement: India's CBDC pilot is one of the most successful in terms of adoption — benefiting from the existing UPI payment infrastructure and strong government push.

Other Notable Projects

• Brazil (Drex): In pilot, using DLT. Expected launch 2025–2026.
• Japan: Pilot phase began 2023, with a decision expected by 2026.
• South Korea: Pilot in 2024, focusing on offline payments and cross-border use.
• Russia (Digital Ruble): Launched in 2023, accelerated by sanctions cutting Russia off from SWIFT.
• East Caribbean (DCash): Launched 2021, though it experienced a multi-week outage in 2022 — a cautionary tale about CBDC resilience.

Cross-Border CBDC Projects

Several international projects are exploring how CBDCs can work across borders:

• Project mBridge: A multi-CBDC platform involving China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE. Live pilot since 2022. Enables instant cross-border payments in CBDCs.
• Project Agorá: Led by the BIS Innovation Hub, bringing together central banks (including the BOE and ECB) to explore cross-border CBDC interoperability.
• Project Dunbar: BIS project on multi-CBDC settlements, involving Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa.

The Bottom Line

The global CBDC landscape is fragmented and fast-moving. China and India are ahead in adoption; the EU and UK are in the design phase; the US has stepped back. The UK digital pound is neither leading nor lagging — it's in the main pack of advanced economies. The real competition isn't about who launches first, but who builds the most trusted, useful and interoperable system. For the UK, the digital pound is as much about maintaining London's position as a global financial centre as it is about domestic payments.

Next Steps

• Digital Pound vs Digital Euro — the UK vs EU comparison
• Digital Pound Timeline — the UK's journey so far
• What Is the Digital Pound? — back to the basics

Nothing on this site is financial advice. All content is for educational purposes only. Back to all guides