Faced with competition from Bitcoin, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and central banks are fighting back. They want to accelerate the launch of state digital currencies and payment systems for the general public, via blockchain technology.

The causes of this acceleration of “CBDCs” are not only technological and service for citizen users. While the fame and price of bitcoin, the oldest cryptocurrency, rose sharply during the Covid-19 crisis, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - considered to be the central bank of central banks - also intends to accelerate on these exchanges issued via decentralized blockchain technology, for several reasons. The aim is to accelerate the promotion of cryptocurrencies, this time aimed at the general public. In early 2020, the BIS reported that 80% of them were working on the subject, but only 10% of these institutions were in the pilot project stage at the end of 2019, according to a survey of 66 central banks in developed and emerging countries. Even the Bank of France got started by launching a call for projects in 2020 with the aim of creating a “digital euro”. On June 18, the central authority even indicated that it had carried out its first financial transaction in cryptocurrency

The aim is to better control trade, while more than 80% of global trade is currently denominated in dollars. Also, the Middle Kingdom recently banned its banks from processing these cryptocurrency transactions. The challenge of monetary power If central banks are accelerating, the interest is primarily technological in order to develop their services. In a study published in May 2021, the cryptocurrency management platform Kraken cited its motivations, which were interviewed by the BIS and summarised in a diagram. Efficiency and optimization of payments, international money transfers, system strength... By mastering these new technologies, central banks, under the leadership of the BIS, would also be able to act more quickly in regulating