CBDCs politicised in one in five of jurisdictions
Public and private sectors mostly concerned about privacy of digital currencies
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are becoming a divisive political issue in around a fifth of jurisdictions, the Fintech Benchmarks 2026 find.
Four (22%) of 18 central banks disclosed that CBDC initiatives have become politicised in their jurisdictions.
Politicisation is defined as concerns from bodies such as political groups that paint the technology as invasive and “toxic”.
By economic classification, CBDCs are slightly more likely to be disputed in high income (29%) countries than in
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