The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) 2023 survey finds that 94% of central banks are now engaged in some form of central bank digital currency (CBDC) work, underscoring how CBDCs have moved from a niche research topic to a near-universal policy priority. Central banks are advancing at different speeds and exploring varied design choices, reflecting divergent monetary systems, legal frameworks and policy objectives. In 2023 there was a marked increase in wholesale CBDC experiments and pilots, especially in advanced economies, and the BIS assesses that the probability of a wholesale CBDC being issued within six years is now higher than for a retail CBDC. The survey shows that design discussions are increasingly concrete but still unsettled. For wholesale CBDCs, central banks frequently consider features such as interoperability with existing and future financial market infrastructures and programmability to support more efficient, automated settlement. For retail CBDCs, more than half of respondents are examining holding limits, interoperability with current payment systems, offline payment options, and zero remuneration (non‑interest‑bearing) structures, with notable differences between advanced and emerging economies in areas like the potential use of distributed ledger technology and transaction limits. In parallel, the survey reports that stablecoins remain rarely used for payments outside the crypto ecosystem, while about two‑thirds of jurisdictions have implemented or are developing regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and other cryptoassets, positioning CBDC work within a broader effort to manage digital money, financial stability and payment system evolution.

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