The Deputy Governor of Norges Bank, Pal Longva, has said that Norway has ‘no urgency’ around its digital currency initiatives. Norway has completed four stages of CBDC investigation. It is now concentrating on applications of wholesale CBDCs in a fifth phase of work to be completed by the end of 2025.

The Digital Currency Conference took place in London in September this year, starting with a workshop focused on the Digital Pound. This spent time trying to establish the use cases that make a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) a necessity so that it is actually used. This is a recurring topic currently as central banks work through whether to introduce a CBDC.

At the Digital Currency Conference, the Bank of Israel (BOI) laid out its CBDC approach starting with looking at the rapid growth of digital payments as a proportion of all payments across the world. Cash may be holding up in absolute numbers but relative to the total, it is falling fast.

At the recent CBDC Conference in Istanbul a number of key themes emerged. That the given focus of this event, as its name indicates, is predominantly on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), these themes were in sharper contrast to the subsequent Digital Currency Conference in London, which had a broader remit.

The Bank of Canada is stepping back from a implementation of a CBDC.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a paper considering the security of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). While there are frequent papers covering CBDCs and design features affecting privacy, financial inclusion, and the impact on monetary policy, it is rare for security to be covered. The paper lays out why and how a CBDC is different from existing digital payments and reviews the risks they face.

In June and September 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided support to the Banco Central de la República Dominicana (BCRD) to explore CBDC.

A recent article in Forbes makes the case for Self-Sovereign Decentralised Identity to be used to address privacy issues with CBDCs.

The Bank of Canada has issued a staff discussion paper considering the role of retail public money at a time when new technology and new participants, some non-financial firms, are entering the process of money creation.

Sweden’s Riksbank has started to look at the climate impact of adopting a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).