The post Canada Pauses Digital Dollar Project as Global CBDC Development Surges appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

TLDR: Canada’s central bank is shifting focus away from retail CBDC development The bank is now prioritizing broader payments system research and policy Public consultation revealed privacy concerns and low interest in a digital Canadian dollar Canada’s move contrasts with growing global CBDC momentum China’s digital yuan pilot leads with transactions totaling about $986 billion as of June 2024 Canada has decided to pause its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, shifting focus away from developing a retail digital Canadian dollar. The Bank of Canada announced this change after years of research into a potential digital version of the national currency. The project, which began in 2017, was initially a response to rapid digitalization and changing payment habits among Canadians. In late 2023, the Bank of Canada received nearly 90,000 responses to a public consultation paper. Most of these responses reflected privacy concerns about a potential CBDC. A subsequent online survey revealed that 87% of participants said they would never use a digital Canadian dollar, while 92% stated they would not prefer it over existing payment methods under any circumstances. The central bank’s decision to scale down its retail CBDC work comes as a surprise to many, given the growing global interest in CBDCs. According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, as of September 2024, 134 countries and currency unions, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring central bank-issued digital currencies. Despite moving away from retail CBDC development, the Bank of Canada emphasized that it would “continue to monitor global retail CBDC developments and publish some related research.” The bank also stated that there would be “further opportunities for Canadians to provide input on a potential digital dollar” in the future. The bank’s official statement indicated that it is “scaling down” its retail CBDC work and “shifting its focus to…

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Filed under: News - @ September 23, 2024 8:21 am