With a population of 2.8 million, Qatar will join an expanding number of nations experimenting with the concept of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is currently in the “foundation stage” of issuing its digital currency.
Speaking at a session on The Inflation Test at the Qatar Economic Forum, QCB’s governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani said that the bank is working on finding the right technology and platform.
“Many central banks are now considering issuing CBDC, and we are not an exception to that. But we are still in the foundation stage. We are evaluating the pros and cons of issuing CBDC and to find the proper and the right technology and platform to issue our CBDC.”
Talking about cryptocurrencies, he said digital currencies are a technological innovation that usher in a new era of fast, cheap, and more accessible financial services.
“However, those crypto assets which are not underlined by monetary authority might be less credible,” he said.
Currently, 105 countries, representing over 95 percent of the global GDP, are exploring a CBDC.
As many as 10 countries have fully launched a digital currency, with China’s pilot set to expand in 2023, while 19 of the G20 countries are exploring a CBDC, with 16 already in the development or pilot stage, including South Korea, Japan, India, and Russia.
