Wholesale, not retail, CBDCs more likely to be issued in near-term - BIS
In recent years, almost all central banks have begun exploring CBDCs - 94% of 86 surveyed by BIS in late 2023.
Now, there is a shift away from theoretical research on potential implications towards real-life experiments to test the feasibility and desirability of specific design features.
More than half of the central banks quizzed by BIS are working on proofs of concept, and one out of three is running a pilot.
And, while much of the debate around the issue has focused on retail CBDCs, the banks are now shifting focus to wholesale, where there has been a noticable uptick in experiments.
BIS predicts the "likelihood that central banks will issue a CBDC within the next six years is now generally greater for wholesale than for retail CBDC".
As for designs, many CBDC features are still undecided.
Yet, interoperability and programmability are often considered for wholesale CBDCs, while for retail CBDCs, more than half of central banks are considering holding limits, interoperability, offline options and zero remuneration.
On crypto, the survey indicates that, to date, stablecoins are rarely used for payments outside the crypto ecosystem.
