Canada’s central bank steps back from digital currency exploration: report

The Bank of Canada has reportedly shifted its focus away from the idea of introducing a digital Canadian dollar.

The Bank of Canada seems to be shifting its focus away from developing a government-backed digital currency, seven years after it first began exploring the idea in response to the rapid digitalization of payments. Per a CBC News report, the Canadian central bank appears less inclined to pursue the so-called digital Loonie.

As of press time, the Bank of Canada made no public statements on whether it has paused its research efforts toward developing the digital currency. In a commentary to CBC News, a spokesperson for the central bank admitted that the bank has undertaken “significant research on the implications of a retail central bank digital currency.”

However, the bank decided to shift its efforts toward analyzing payment system trends in Canada and globally, the report reads. The shift comes as data from the think tank Atlantic Council revealed that 134 countries, covering 98% of the global economy, are exploring digital currencies, with 44 currently piloting central bank digital currencies.

Canada takes pause amid global push for CBDC

The data also shows that over 65 countries, including India, Australia, and Brazil, are in advanced stages of CBDC exploration, whether in the development, pilot, or launch phases. Every G20 country is now investigating its own CBDC, with 19 in the advanced stages of exploration, per the think tank.

In mid-August, Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre voiced strong opposition to the development of a central bank digital currency in Canada, pledging to protect cash usage and resist the government’s push toward economic digitization. He also expressed support for a member of the House of Commons of Canada Ted Falk’s Bill C-400, which seeks to ban the introduction of such a currency.