CBDCs Between Progress and Stagnation: BIS 2024 Survey in Perspective

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released its 2024 survey on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and crypto assets, drawing responses from 93 central banks worldwide. The results suggest that while central banks remain deeply engaged in CBDC research, real-world adoption continues to lag — especially as private-sector innovations such as stablecoins and tokenization advance more quickly.

Strong Engagement, Limited Breakthroughs

According to the BIS, 91% of central banks are exploring CBDCs, whether retail, wholesale, or both. Wholesale CBDCs, designed to modernize interbank settlement and support tokenized markets, remain more advanced than retail projects.

Retail CBDCs, in contrast, continue to struggle. Despite years of trials, live projects in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria show minimal uptake, raising doubts about whether citizens see value in state-backed digital money compared to existing payment solutions.

Emerging Markets Push, Advanced Economies Wait

The survey highlights a growing divide between emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) and advanced economies (AEs).

• EMDEs are often mandated to explore or issue CBDCs, citing goals such as financial inclusion and cross-border remittances.
• AEs, meanwhile, remain cautious, with no major economy committing to a retail launch.

This reflects a broader drawback: mandates do not guarantee adoption, especially where users already rely on mobile money, cards, or stablecoins.

Stablecoins and Tokenization Gain Ground

While central banks debate CBDC design, the survey notes that stablecoins are already being used for cross-border remittances in some EMDEs. Domestic use remains limited, but their organic growth highlights the competitive pressure CBDCs face.

At the same time, tokenization has gained significant momentum, particularly in advanced economies. Tokenized bonds are becoming more common, and several banks have issued tokenized deposit services — a sign that commercial players may be shaping the digital finance future faster than central banks.

Design Debates vs. Reality

The BIS highlights an array of design considerations for retail CBDCs, ranging from distribution models and fee structures to interoperability, programmability, offline functionality, and holding limits. Wholesale projects face similar choices around access and cross-border functionality.

Yet these discussions expose a weakness: while design grows more complex each year, practical adoption remains elusive. Without clear user incentives, CBDCs risk being perceived as policy experiments rather than necessary innovations.

Comparing 2024 with 2023

Compared to the 2023 BIS survey, the 2024 edition shows little acceleration. Last year, 94% of central banks reported engagement, slightly higher than the 91% recorded now, with wholesale efforts already leading retail. The new survey places more emphasis on explicit mandates in emerging markets and on tokenization, which received less focus in 2023. It also concedes that stablecoins have gained traction in remittances, a shift from 2023 when they were described as “rarely used.” The continuity suggests that CBDCs remain more of a policy aspiration than a market reality, even as private-sector innovations move faster.

Key Drawbacks Emerging

The survey’s results highlight the following drawbacks:

• Low adoption of live retail CBDCs in pilot countries.
• Caution in advanced economies, with no clear retail commitments.
• Stablecoins and tokenized deposits already proving more useful in practice.
• Complexity of design trade-offs delaying implementation.
• Global coordination hurdles unresolved, especially for cross-border use.

The Bigger Picture

The BIS 2024 survey underscores a paradox. Central banks remain committed to exploring CBDCs, yet real-world usage remains negligible. Wholesale pilots may strengthen settlement systems, but retail CBDCs have yet to demonstrate mass appeal.

Meanwhile, stablecoins and tokenization are moving ahead, shaping the digital asset landscape with practical use cases. Unless central banks can bridge the gap between design ambition and user adoption, CBDCs risk being remembered as an experiment that never truly took off.