Central bank digital currency (CBDC) has fallen out of favour for use in digital asset settlement. This is according to findings in the latest Securities Services Evolution 2024 whitepaper recently published by Citi. Instead, market participants are now looking to non-bank CBDC options such as non-bank stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and tokenised money market funds.
Only 15 per cent of respondents this year expressed the expectation that CBDCs will be used for the purpose of digital asset settlement, compared to 52 per cent in last year’s study.
The report is based on an online survey with 494 respondents from around the globe working in financial market infrastructures (FMIs), custodians, banks, broker-dealers, investment managers and institution investors. In addition, it includes insights from in-depth interviews conducted with 14 FMIs and industry participants “from all regions and profiles”.
The survey also found geographical differences in the uptake and progress of digital assets. North America has the highest proportion of respondents indicating they have proofs of concept at 30 per cent, but also has the lowest commercial scale deployment, at zero per cent. 17 per cent of respondents from both Latin America and Europe have seen projects go live, while 12 per cent in APAC indicated the same.
Another timely topic highlighted in the study is the public-private blockchain debate. Most respondents across the four segments surveyed – asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, and custodians – indicated a preference for private blockchains managed by FMIs or public permissioned chains.
