The World Ahead | Digital currencies in 2024
The roll-out of central-bank digital currencies will slow in 2024
They create new problems while solving few
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By Arjun Ramani
New technologies have changed the nature of money many times in the past. The Lydians invented coins in the seventh century BC; paper money emerged in seventh-century China. Credit and debit cards spurred a shift away from paper money and cheques. In the 2010s, smartphone-based payments took off. Use of cash is now plummeting: its share of retail transactions in ten of the world’s biggest markets fell from about three-quarters to one-half from 2011 to 2021, according to McKinsey, a consultancy.
This article appeared in the Finance section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “Are CBDCs dead?”