On April 5, analysts at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report saying that more than 80% of central banks are considering launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC). “CBDC will make the financial services industry more efficient, lower cost and support 24/7 cross-border payments. We expect that CBDC will greatly benefit cross-border transactions and economies in all relevant jurisdictions.”
Overall, retail CBDC projects have reached a more mature level than wholesale projects, the report noted. Additionally, the report states that stablecoins reached a market cap of around $190 billion in early 2022 and will continue to grow as these tokens offer many of the same benefits as CBDCs without monitoring.
Transparency around reserve assets, especially fiat-backed stablecoins, will be a major concern going forward as the asset class continues to grow and regulation tightens, analysts added.
