April 30, 2026
By Shubhii Verma
Many Asian countries once showed strong interest in launching their own Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). But now, that excitement is slowing down. Countries like India, Japan, and South Korea are either facing low public interest, technical challenges, or policy disagreements. The only major country in Asia still strongly pushing ahead with its CBDC is China.
In early April, China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), added 12 more banks to support its digital currency, the e-CNY (digital yuan). This shows China is serious about expanding the use of its CBDC. By November 2025, China had already recorded 3.48 billion transactions worth 16.7 trillion yuan using the digital yuan.
China sees many benefits in the e-CNY. It allows faster and cheaper payments compared to traditional banking. It also gives the central bank better visibility into money flows, which can help prevent illegal activities like money laundering. Beyond these practical benefits, China also sees the digital yuan as a way to reduce reliance on the US dollar and the global SWIFT payment system. In the future, this could help China play a bigger role in international trade payments.
Another reason China supports the e-CNY is to reduce the dominance of private payment giants like Alipay and WeChat Pay. If people start using the digital yuan more often, the government will gain more control over the country’s digital payment system.
Meanwhile, South Korea has paused its digital won project. There are disagreements between regulators about whether to focus on CBDCs or allow stablecoins. Although the central bank still supports a CBDC, progress has slowed.
Japan is also unsure. Its central bank is running pilot projects but has not decided whether it will actually launch a digital yen. Since Japan already has a strong digital payment system, there is little pressure to introduce a CBDC.
In India, the digital rupee has struggled because people already widely use UPI, which is fast and convenient. Banks and users do not see much need for a new digital currency. However, the Indian government may use the digital rupee for welfare payments to reduce corruption and improve efficiency.
One interesting move by China is that banks are now required to pay interest on digital yuan wallets. This could encourage both banks and consumers to use it more, as it becomes similar to a bank deposit rather than just a payment tool.
Overall, while most Asian countries are slowing down on CBDCs, China is moving forward strongly and finding new ways to make its digital currency more attractive.
