Global CBDC Progress Stalls Despite Regional Efforts

Despite the United States’ rejection of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the global progress of CBDCs has not halted. However, their success has been questionable so far, according to Olga Goncharova, CEO at the consulting firm Rizz Go and former director of government relations in the Commonwealth of Independent States at Binance.

Goncharova stated that while global CBDC projects have not failed, they have also not lived up to their anticipated potential. She described CBDCs as "expensive imitations of existing traditional fiat currencies that citizens and businesses already use through online banking and payment apps." This perspective was shared during the Blockchain Forum in Moscow.

Goncharova highlighted that modern CBDC initiatives have yet to offer users real added value compared to traditional payment channels. She noted that even in regions like China, where the digital yuan project has been actively pursued, its share in the payment system remains minimal. This slow adoption has led to reports suggesting that China’s CBDC has been struggling.

China’s digital yuan, known as one of the biggest CBDC projects worldwide, offers an electronic version of the Chinese yuan intended for online and offline transactions. Despite the Chinese government's active promotion, some reports have declared China’s digital project a failure, citing the downfall of Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank.

Every country has its reasons to pursue a CBDC. The European Union, for instance, has been pushing its digital euro project to protect its financial autonomy. Goncharova stated that the digital euro is perceived more as an instrument of strategic autonomy than as a response to market demand. Its goal is to reduce reliance on payment giants like Visa and Mastercard. However, the efforts to create a pan-European payment system have faced serious challenges, such as market share concerns by banks as well as adoption difficulties.

The European Central Bank has not yet decided whether the digital euro will operate on the blockchain, citing technological risks and a lack of convincing cases for programmability.

Russia has emerged as one of the most active jurisdictions in the global CBDC race, but it’s yet to roll out its digital currency. The digital ruble has been on multiple trials since early 2022, but its launch has been delayed multiple times. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina announced that the mass adoption of a digital ruble would occur later than planned.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has recently claimed that the digital ruble is scheduled to be rolled out for commercial banks in the second half of 2025. Goncharova noted that in Russia, there is no urgent need to reduce dependence on foreign payment systems as in the EU. The digital ruble is perceived as a tool for increasing the efficiency of internal settlements. Its further development will depend on how clearly the tasks are formulated and whether there is practical sense for users and the economy.

While Russia has been delaying its digital ruble, some officials have recently called on the government to create ruble-pegged stablecoins, echoing the US’s stablecoin push. Several ruble stablecoins have already been introduced, but it remains to be seen whether these initiatives can compete with giants like Tether’s USDt (USDT).