Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 43
CBDCs Around the World: Where Are We Now?
Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia
(RBA) is currently focused on
a wholesale CBDC, meaning
it would be used between
banks and businesses, not the
general public—at least for
now. They’re running trials to
see how it could work in large
昀椀nancial transac琀椀ons.
Europe
The European Central Bank
(ECB) has been working on a
digital euro, but concerns over
technical failures and privacy
have slowed progress. In early
2025, European lawmakers
raised doubts a昀琀er a major
payment system outage caused
public concern about the
reliability of digital currencies.
United States
The US is stepping back from
CBDCs. In January 2025,
President Donald Trump
signed an execu琀椀ve order
banning the development of
a digital US dollar, arguing
that it would lead to excessive
government control.
China
China is one of the most
advanced countries when it
comes to CBDCs. They’ve
already launched the digital
yuan, which is being used in
major ci琀椀es. The government
is ac琀椀vely promo琀椀ng its use
in everyday transac琀椀ons
and interna琀椀onal trade,
posi琀椀oning it as a future
global currency.
What Does This Mean for the Future of Money?
CBDCs could completely
change the way we use
money, making payments
faster, cheaper, and more
accessible. But they also come
with risks—par琀椀cularly around
privacy and 昀椀nancial freedom.
The big ques琀椀on is: Can
governments introduce
CBDCs while maintaining
the bene昀椀ts of cash, such
as privacy and control over
personal 昀椀nances?
Right now, there’s no clear
answer, but one thing is
certain: the way we use
money is evolving, and
CBDCs are a major part of
the conversa琀椀on. Whether
they become the norm or
remain a niche 昀椀nancial tool
depends on how governments
balance innova琀椀on with
individual rights.
Would you use a governmentbacked digital currency, or do
you prefer cash and tradi琀椀onal
banking? It’s a debate that’s
only just ge琀�ng started.
