According to a study carried out by IBM and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), the first central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be issued within the next 5 years.
The research, which is called "Retail CBDCs: The next payments frontier" and involves banks from 13 advanced economies and 10 emerging markets, was conducted between July and September and has concluded that 73% of leading global banks believe CBDCs should be available in a short period of time "under all circumstances."
This is due to the fact that central banks now think CBDCs can substitute cash in certain situations such as point of sale merchants with a network connection.
According to the document:
"Central banks are responding to the reality that digital currencies, either privately or publicly issued, will soon be part of the global monetary system, and that it is in their interest to ensure they are neither left behind nor displaced."
82% of the participants also claimed their greatest financial stability concern from CBDC implementation is the risk of digital bank operations happening at a higher speed than before.
Earlier this month iHodl reported that China's central bank is hiring 6 experts to develop its digital currency and that Philadelphia Fed president believes central banks will launch digital currencies.
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