Chile remains indecisive regarding the issuance of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), as officials claim they do not have the necessary information to proceed with its development. All this comes as the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies is increasing in that country.
recently reportThe Central Bank of Chile (BCCH) indicated that “there is still not enough information to make a final decision regarding the issuance of a CBDC.”
Therefore, CBC will continue Its “analysis and study” process of CBDC. “Implementing the efforts developed follows a practical example, in line with developments adopted by other economies,” its new report indicates.
For this, the bank will further develop the design presenting one or more proofs of conceptWhich will be implemented in a controlled environment, “to improve the understanding of the challenges and implications in terms of technical and operational conditions arising from the issuance of a CBDC.”
“The results of the concept tests will be communicated and their progress presented from time to time in future reports in the information channels established in this case by the Bank,” the Chilean financial institution says.
With this report, CBC confirms their position from a few years ago, when they also alleged that there was not enough information to consider issuing a CBDC for the Chilean peso.
The monetary entity says that its intention to continue studying CBDCs should not be interpreted as a decision to ultimately issue the asset or As a change to CBC’s commitment to provide cash.
Looking at other examples
According to CBC, they are continuing to explore CBDC concepts and have looked at examples from other countries. Where there are clear demonstrations of the growth of this type of digital assets.
They acknowledge that there is tremendous interest in the international community in exploring the issuance of a CBDC. Also, in this sense central bank research has “evolved into its own form of learning.”
“Many countries have conducted proof of concept and in some cases pilots, often in collaboration with private entities. “This is to evaluate the feasibility of a CBDC and at the same time build human and technical capacities keeping the medium term in mind,” the institution indicates.
In fact, there are even more 130 countries According to monitoring site cbdctracker.org, they already have CBDCs. In some cases, such as Brazil, Australia or Sweden They don’t pass proof of concept, But in other countries like China and Russia, the use of this tokenized asset has been implemented at different levels of the economy through pilot tests.
Bitcoin adoption is increasing in Chile
Chile’s central bank’s indecision regarding CBDC issuance knows no bounds The Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem and the boom it has seen in cryptocurrencies In that country.
This time in top 100 According to Chainalysis, among the countries that have seen the most adoption of these assets, Chile is a demonstration of the growth of this emerging market, Which is one of the strongest economies in Latin America.
One of these examples are thematic events of the cryptocurrency market taking place in that country. An example is CriptoSummit 2024, which was located in Chile. In these conferences, enthusiasts and ecosystem experts He talked about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and their impact on that country.
According to local experts like Luis Angulo Mura, who is the coordinator of innovation and technology at the University of San Sebastian in Chile, BTC and cryptocurrencies Proposal Alternatives to traditional investors.
Additionally, Chile emerged as the second country in the world to legally adopt Bitcoin, as El Salvador did in 2021. This was a proposal that could not come to fruition.
However, recently Chilean authorities began to take steps to regulate these assets and their technology. In January 2024, the Financial Market Commission (CMF) issued a standard Which regulates the operations of companies related to cryptocurrency.
Fintech legislation is also in place, although it quietly mentions BTC and crypto assets, This was the first step in favor of regulation To the emerging ecosystem through regulations approved by the Chilean legislature.
