BIS Releases Survey on CBDC Initiatives; New Crypto Products Launch

By Jordan R. Silversmith

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently released the results of its 2021 survey of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). According to the survey, 90 percent of the 81 central banks surveyed are exploring CBDCs to varying degrees, with more than half of those respondents now developing CBDCs or running concrete experiments. The survey also found that central banks are particularly interested in retail CBDCs, and the share of central banks currently developing a CBDC or running a pilot increased from 14 percent in 2020 to 26 percent in 2021.

After a several-week delay, three new cryptocurrency exchange traded funds (ETFs) were approved by regulators to launch in Australia this week, giving Australian traders five crypto ETFs to choose from now. And in Brazil, this week the largest Brazilian digital bank by market value announced it was adding the option for customers to buy and sell bitcoin and ether on its platform. According to reports, while users will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrency with Brazilian reals, they initially will not be able to withdraw or deposit cryptocurrencies.

In a final development, S&P Global recently assigned a credit rating to a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform for the first time. The DeFi company, Compound Treasury, received a B-, or junk, rating by S&P Global. The DeFi company reportedly has a stable outlook, but ratings issuers cited the uncertainty of regulatory conditions around stablecoins and the company’s “very low” capital base as concerns leading to the rating.

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