CBDC pilots in 49 countries

The U.S. is very much sitting out the move to digital fiat money, but projects are taking off around the globe.

What we're watching: Central bank digital currency is either the natural evolution of money as we know it into the digital age, or the final step into a total surveillance dystopia.

💭 Our thought bubble: Why not both?

The latest: The Atlantic Council has been tracking developments in the digitization of money for years, and it just released an update to its tracker.

• Right now, a record 49 countries have pilots.
• China's digital yuan is by the far the biggest pilot. India's digital rupee is the other one.
• The Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria are still the countries to have fully launched.

Between the lines: Countries favor intermediated CBDCs, according to the Atlantic Council's research. In other words, consumers still need to use them via third parties, like banks or fintechs.

• If there is one main point to cryptocurrency, it's giving consumers a way to hold digital value on their own.

Zoom out: The social credit system for firms in China has alarmed Westerners. It's often cited by American politicians when they object to the idea of making the dollar into a digital currency.

• The Trump White House has made it clear that a CBDC will not move under this administration.

Go deeper: The IMF put out a how-to manual for launching these instruments.