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Zambia publishes list of banks with deposit protection
Disclosure by central bank follows establishment of long-delayed insurance scheme last October
Less than half of central banks engaged in tokenisation work
Respondents widely consider bonds for tokenisation, among other asset class
- Benchmarking
Central banks divided over stablecoin impact on US debt demand
Respondents offer different views on adoption paths and market dynamics
- Benchmarking
Fintech Benchmarks 2026 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Fintech Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2026
- Benchmarking
Two-thirds of central banks predict CBDC adoption in 5–10 years
Stablecoin launches seen as more likely by authorities without CBDC mandate
- Benchmarking
Most circulating stablecoins pegged to the greenback
Jurisdictions with stablecoins in use are largely high and upper-middle income countries
- Benchmarking
Financial stability seen as top risk from private digital money
Concerns differ somewhat by region
- Benchmarking
Majority of CBDCs designed to be domestic only
But a fifth of central banks are working on multi-currency CBDCs
- Benchmarking
Central banks report 28 operational bitcoin ATMs on average
Jurisdictions with larger institutions have the most machines
- Benchmarking
CBDCs politicised in one in five jurisdictions
Public and private sectors mostly concerned about privacy of digital currencies
- Benchmarking
Fintech licences issued yearly remain below 10 on average
Number of fintechs in operation averages just over 60
- Benchmarking
Central banks keep trialling link between wCBDC and RTGS
Most respondents motivated to issue wCBDC to enable financial innovation
- Benchmarking