Foreword: METI Advisory wrote this report for SEBA Bank AG. Abstract: A growing number of Central banks around the globe are analysing, testing, and prototyping CBDCs. These initiatives are strongly backed by the Bank for International Settlements or the BIS (bank of the central banks). In this context, wholesale CBDCs emerge as low hanging fruit compared to retail CBDCs. The design and implementation of retail CBDCs (as compared to wholesale CBCDs) faces several additional challenges that need to be addressed before practical application is possible. The steadily growing CBDC initiatives from Central Banks globally, suggest that the official launch of the first wholesale CBDC may be near. It could be as soon as a matter of months, before the first official CBDC sees light. The concrete adoption of blockchain-based digital currencies by the official sector is expected to boost public trust in such technology and related monetary innovations.
Several other noticeable developments have characterised the digital regulatory space in recent weeks, such as the review by the FATF of the status of compliance to the “travel rules” by virtual asset providers (enacted 12 months ago), and the unanimous approval of the landmark Blockchain Act by the Swiss Parliament.