According to PwC, 80% of central banks worldwide are considering rolling out a central bank digital currency (CBDC). PwC estimates the larger stablecoin ecosystem to be worth $190B.

Why should we care?
As PwC reports, central banks’s consideration of CBDCs does not translate to wholesale enthusiasm for these projects. In the UK, the Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Lords dubbed CBDCs “a solution in search of a problem.” But some emerging markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), see CBDCs as a way to make their payments systems more efficient, making payments service providers compete and reduce financial-service costs. Across the board, central banks want to launch digital-currency initiatives slowly and thoughtfully. BIS said that, if “not carefully managed, [cross-border CBDCs] could spur currency substitution, exchange rate volatility and tax avoidance.” Not to mention cybersecurity: Just yesterday, Beanstalk, an Ethereum-based stablecoin protocol, lost $182M in crypto assets. What are the implications of scaling our national financial systems around these vulnerable frameworks? Japan has suggested that it will defer to its citizens through a referendum to decide future steps (or a lack thereof) regarding CBDCs. Other countries may take note, making their electorates weigh the potential benefits and harms of digital transformation.