CBDCs Reshaping Money in 2026
3 predictions from my latest article:
🔹 Accelerated rollout – 139+ countries moving from research to pilots.
🔹 Digital ID integration - unprecedented financial s...
The article is amazing!
As of late 2025, only three countries have fully launched a retail CBDC: the Bahamas (Sand Dollar), Jamaica (Jam-Dex), and Nigeria (eNaira).
China's digital yuan (e-CNY) remains the world's largest pilot, while India's e-rupee is the second-largest, both expanding use cases and offline functionality in 2025.
There's a notable shift in emphasis from consumer-focused retail pilots to wholesale CBDCs for interbank and cross-border settlements. Projects like mBridge (connecting China, Thailand, UAE, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia) are now operational and reducing transaction times from days to seconds.
As of late 2025, only three countries have fully launched a retail CBDC: the Bahamas (Sand Dollar), Jamaica (Jam-Dex), and Nigeria (eNaira).
China's digital yuan (e-CNY) remains the world's largest pilot, while India's e-rupee is the second-largest, both expanding use cases and offline functionality in 2025.
There's a notable shift in emphasis from consumer-focused retail pilots to wholesale CBDCs for interbank and cross-border settlements. Projects like mBridge (connecting China, Thailand, UAE, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia) are now operational and reducing transaction times from days to seconds.