In our previous Deloitte study “Future of money : The revolution of stablecoins and the opportunities of Central Bank Digital Currencies in the era of the Coronavirus crisis”, published in 2020, we have provided a general overview of the development of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and their impacts on the redefinition of the monetary ecosystem.

Two years later, we can observe that digital assets have launched a real revolution and are bringing important changes to the current payment and banking services. As a matter of fact, more than 80 central banks have launched CBDC research or/and experimentation projects around the world. Some countries such as China lead the world movement by launching their own CBDC pilot. As a result, traditional banking actors and tech firms are starting to take a serious interest in these assets and want to embrace this movement in order to avoid being left behind. But they want first to understand it. We therefore present herea knowledge base aof elements to reflect on before entering this arena.

This study aims to give a global overview of opportunities offered by CBDCs and strategies for adapting to them, according to 4 points of views: central authorities, financial actors, regulators and citizens. To do this, we have adopted a business approach to digital assets and relegated the technology involved to a secondary position. We first present how central authorities are defining a CBDC strategy and how they can valuate it as an asset. Then, we analyse the direct impacts of these new digital currencies on stakeholders such as commercial banks, in their business strategy, and regulators and end users, in terms of data use and environmental footprint. Finally, we explore directions that can be followed by financial actors to protect their own interests and to stay competitive in the long-term.

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Laurent Leloup - Finyear
Consulting & Strategy / Blockchain, DeFi, ICO, Finance 3.0, Web3.
Auteur de Blockchain, la révolution de la confiance
"La blockchain n’est pas la révolution tant annoncée, elle n’est que l’outil d’un monde lui-même entré en révolution"