Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are digital forms of legal tender issued by central banks, with implications for payment efficiency, financial stability, privacy and regulation. South Korea has recently expanded its Hangang pilot and plans to link it to tokenized government bonds. Europe is advancing digital euro legislation and payment trials, while Russia and China continue to broaden real-world applications. By contrast, the U.S. federal government and some state governments have explicitly opposed issuing a CBDC. These diverging approaches could shape cross-border payments, monetary sovereignty and the roles of the public and private sectors in the digital financial system.