Research Methodology

The tracker organises publicly available information about central bank digital currency initiatives so readers can compare broad stages and follow meaningful changes. It is a research aid, not an official registry.

Sources may include official central bank, government, legislative, programme, technical, academic, and reputable reporting materials. We seek primary material where available, compare significant claims, record source links, and avoid treating a single unverified statement as conclusive.

Atlantic Council country and currency-union figures are external benchmarks for the date stated by that source. They are not CBDC LLC’s count of individually tracked project records. The term ‘exploring’ covers multiple stages and should not be read as a live pilot or launch.

Tracker totals are calculated from unique project tags in the connected live API feed. Status totals apply to project records. The map resolves joint project labels into unique country and territory names and excludes recognized currency-union or regional labels from that map-name count. External country and currency-union benchmarks use a different scope. We do not change records or classifications merely to force totals to match.

Labels such as Research, Proof of concept, Pilot, Launched, and Cancelled are editorial classifications based on the available evidence. They simplify different national terminology and should not be read as legal or official designations.

When sources disagree, the conflict may be noted or the most authoritative and recent evidence may be used with appropriate caution. Historical changes are recorded when the underlying information is available; a missing historical record does not mean that no earlier change occurred.

Coverage, timing, translations, source accessibility, and changing programme language create limitations. Records are updated as information is reviewed, without promising a fixed schedule. Readers can report an error or outdated item at info@cbdc.ac.