Roughly 137 countries and currency unions are working on central bank digital currencies, but only three have fully launched one for everyday public use: the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria. China operates the largest program in the world through its digital yuan, several major economies including India and Russia are running active pilots, and the European Union, United Kingdom, and Brazil are in design. If you are asking what countries have digital currency issued by a central bank, the honest answer is that the live list is short, the pilot list is long, and the United States is actively moving to keep itself off both.
Countries With a Fully Launched CBDC
Three retail CBDCs are live and available to the general public today. A fourth early mover, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s DCash, was suspended in early 2026 so the ECCB could redirect resources to a regional fast-payment system and the CARICOM Payments and Settlement System pilot.1Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. Communique of the 112th Meeting of the ECCB Monetary Council
The Bahamas: Sand Dollar
The Bahamas launched the Sand Dollar in October 2020, the world’s first nationally issued retail CBDC. The Central Bank of The Bahamas Act 2020 gave it the same legal tender status as physical Bahamian dollars.2Central Bank of The Bahamas. Legal Framework Users hold Sand Dollars in mobile wallets issued by authorized financial institutions, and transactions work offline, which matters for residents on remote islands. Adoption has been modest. As of late 2023, about 119,000 personal wallets had been created and roughly $1.7 million in Sand Dollars was in circulation.
Jamaica: JAM-DEX
Jamaica launched JAM-DEX on July 11, 2022, operated by the Bank of Jamaica. The government paired the rollout with the Lynk mobile app and offered a sign-up bonus of about J$2,500 (roughly $15) to the first 60,000 users, which drove much of the early adoption numbers. JAM-DEX supports instant peer-to-peer transfers without the fees a commercial bank transfer would carry.
Nigeria: eNaira
Nigeria became the first African country to launch a CBDC when it released the eNaira on October 25, 2021.3The State House, Abuja. At Official Launch of eNaira, President Buhari Says Digital Currency Will Boost Nigeria’s GDP by $29 Bn in 10yrs The Central Bank of Nigeria uses a tiered wallet system in which the level of identity verification sets your transaction limits. Basic enrollment requires a National Identification Number; higher-tier wallets need a Bank Verification Number for larger balances. The eNaira circulates alongside physical naira and is used for government benefit payments and remittances.
China: The World’s Largest CBDC Program
China’s e-CNY sits in a category of its own. After a decade of development and pilots in more than two dozen cities, the People’s Bank of China implemented a major upgrade on January 1, 2026, that reclassified the digital yuan from M0 (a cash equivalent) to M1 (deposit money).4gov.cn. China to Enhance Digital Yuan Management with Deposit Features Starting 2026 Banks now treat e-CNY wallet balances as deposits that can be lent against and that earn interest at demand deposit rates.
By the end of November 2025, China had recorded 3.48 billion cumulative e-CNY transactions worth 16.7 trillion yuan, roughly $2.37 trillion.4gov.cn. China to Enhance Digital Yuan Management with Deposit Features Starting 2026 Consumers pay for public transit, utility bills, and everyday purchases using the e-CNY app or hardware cards. China is the first major economy to make its CBDC interest-bearing at scale.
Countries Running Active Pilots
India: Digital Rupee
The Reserve Bank of India launched digital rupee pilots in late 2022 across both retail and wholesale segments.5Press Information Bureau. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Pilot Launched by RBI in Retail Segment Has Components Based on Blockchain Technology As of early 2026, 19 banks offer retail CBDC wallets and 16 participants take part in the wholesale pilot.6Reserve Bank of India. Digital Rupee (e₹) – FAQs The RBI describes the effort as a limited, controlled roll-out to test technology and use cases before any broader decision.
Russia: Digital Ruble
Russia signed the digital ruble into law in July 2023 and began limited testing with a small group of banks soon after. Large-scale introduction begins on September 1, 2026. Major banks must lead the rollout, and retailers with annual revenue above ₽120 million must accept digital ruble payments starting the same date. All remaining banks must comply by September 2028; small retailers with annual revenue under ₽5 million are exempt from the mandate.7Central Bank of Russia. Large-Scale Introduction of Digital Ruble to Begin on 1 September 2026
Major Economies Still in Design
European Union: Digital Euro
The European Central Bank moved the digital euro into a two-year preparation phase in November 2023, following an investigation phase that ran from 2021 to 2023.8European Central Bank. Preparation Phase of a Digital Euro – Closing Report Work now covers technical architecture, user research, and provider selection. In parallel, the European Parliament is negotiating the Digital Euro Regulation, with talks in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee slowed by disagreement over whether the currency should function offline only or in both online and offline settings. If approved, the digital euro would provide a single electronic payment option across all eurozone member states.
United Kingdom: Digital Pound
The Bank of England and HM Treasury completed a joint public consultation and are now in a design phase, with no decision to launch.9Bank of England. The Digital Pound A financial stability analysis published in late 2025 evaluated individual holding limits ranging from £5,000 to £20,000 and how different caps would affect deposit flight from commercial banks during stress.10Bank of England. The Role of Holding Limits for Sterling-Denominated Systemic Stablecoins and a Potential Digital Pound The bank has also tested offline payment technology on smartphones and smart cards, using NFC and Bluetooth for device-to-device transfers without internet.11Bank of England. Digital Pound Experiment Report: Offline Payments
Brazil: DREX
Brazil’s central bank is developing DREX (Digital Brazilian Real), which goes further than most CBDC projects by integrating tokenized assets and smart contracts alongside payments. The system has two layers: a wholesale component (wDrex) for interbank settlement and a retail component (rDrex) for peer-to-peer transfers.12Banco Central do Brasil. Drex – Digital Brazilian Real Smart contracts on the platform could automate loan repayments, insurance payouts, and government disbursements. The pilot began in March 2023.
The United States: Moving to Block a Digital Dollar
The Federal Reserve says it “has made no decisions on whether to pursue or implement a central bank digital currency” and continues to study potential benefits and risks.13Federal Reserve Board. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Politically, though, the direction is against issuance. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit the Fed from offering CBDC products directly to individuals or using a digital currency for monetary policy, passed the House in July 2025 by a 219–210 vote. A housing bill passed by the Senate in March 2026 included a provision banning the Fed from issuing a CBDC until at least the end of 2030. Supporters cite financial privacy and surveillance concerns. The United States is the only major economy actively legislating against a CBDC rather than developing one.
Why So Few Countries Have Launched
The gap between “exploring” and “live” comes down to two design problems every central bank has to solve. The first is privacy. Every launched CBDC uses tiered identity checks so smaller transactions carry less verification: China allows pseudo-anonymous e-CNY transactions below 10,000 yuan, and the Bahamas permits Sand Dollar payments under $500 without full identity checks. The digital euro legislation has stalled partly over the same question.
The second is bank stability. If a CBDC is safer than a commercial bank deposit, savers may move funds out of banks during stress, draining the deposits banks lend against. A Federal Reserve research paper found that a flight-to-CBDC scenario could raise commercial lending rates by 50 to 250 basis points and reduce business lending by 1 to 5 percent.14Federal Reserve Board. Financial Stability Implications of CBDC Nearly every CBDC in development caps how much any one person can hold, and most launched CBDCs pay no interest, both to keep the currency a payment tool rather than a savings vehicle. China’s decision to make the e-CNY interest-bearing in 2026 breaks that pattern and will be watched closely.
Cross-Border CBDC Projects
Two collaborative projects have tested whether CBDCs from different countries can settle across borders on a shared platform. Project mBridge brought together the BIS Innovation Hub, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, with Saudi Arabia joining as a full participant in 2024.15Bank for International Settlements. Press Release: Project mBridge Reaches Minimum Viable Product Stage and Invites Further International Participation It reached minimum viable product stage in mid-2024, then the BIS stepped away in late 2024, saying the project was mature enough for the participating central banks to continue on their own.16Bank for International Settlements. Project mBridge Reached Minimum Viable Product Stage Project Dunbar, run through the BIS Innovation Hub’s Singapore Centre with the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the South African Reserve Bank, developed two prototypes showing that financial institutions could use CBDCs from different central banks to transact directly on a common platform.17Bank for International Settlements. Project Dunbar: International Settlements Using Multi-CBDCs Dunbar was a research initiative that completed its prototype phase; its findings feed into the G20 roadmap for improving cross-border payments.