The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) examined the demand for central bank digital currencies (CBDC) among its members located around the world. Professional investors in the U.S. showed the least interest in CBDCs, while over two-thirds of professionals in China and India support the technology.
Analysts at the CFA Institute, a global non-profit organization, conducted a survey among its members to examine the demand for central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to the survey, 42% of respondents expressed the view that central banks should launch CBDCs, while 34% didn’t think it was necessary. However, only 13% of investors surveyed said they were very familiar with the technology, while the rest had only heard about it from various sources.
The survey also revealed that investors’ attitudes toward CBDCs are highly dependent on their location. For example, only 31% of U.S. investment professionals expressed support for the launch of CBDCs. At the same time, professional investors from India and China proved to be more loyal to the technology — among local respondents, 70% and 66%, respectively, expressed support for government digital currencies.
The survey showed that opinions among professionals also vary depending on the field of their professional activity. About half of bankers from commercial and investment financial institutions supported CBDCs, while only 38% of respondents among asset managers expressed a positive attitude to the technology.
Respondents cited accelerating payments and transfers as the main reason for supporting CBDCs (58%). The top concerns about CBDCs included:
- limited privacy (50%);
- lack of practical application options (40%).
The report also notes that only 10% of respondents see CBDCs as a potential threat to the banking sector. However, around a quarter of respondents believe that the development of central bank digital currencies will be able to improve existing financial systems.
About 93% of countries are actively studying the possibility of issuing CBDCs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are also exploring the technology, and the non-profit organization Human Rights Foundation (HRF) makes sure that the development of CBDC doesn’t infringe on civil liberties.
