WEB3 WEEKLY RECAP | 27-31 OCTOBER 2025

What drives the appeal for wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (“wCBDCs”)?

Headlines from the past week underscored growing momentum around stablecoins, while CBDCs continued to gain traction as central banks shared updates on their progress and future plans.

𝙏𝙤𝙥 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚(𝙨)
• JPYC Stablecoin Launches in Japan (27 Oct 2025)
• China’s Digital Yuan CBDC Processes $2 Trillion (27 Oct 2025)
• Citi Partners Coinbase for Institutional Stablecoin Payments (28 Oct 2025)
• Western Union Partners Anchorage Digital for Stablecoin Launch (29 Oct 2025)
• e-HKD Pilots: No Immediate Plans for Retail CBDC. 7 Banks Planning Tokenized Deposits (29 Oct 2025)
• Digital Euro Progresses to Next Phase (30 Oct 2025)
• Malaysia’s Central Bank Outlines Tokenisation Plans (31 Oct 2025)

Jurisdictions vary in their CBDC focus. The European Central Bank views the digital euro as a retail payment tool designed to meet the needs of European citizens and merchants. In contrast, Mainland China and Hong Kong are exploring wholesale adoption, emphasising use cases such as cross-border payments, settlement of tokenised transactions, and interbank settlement of tokenised deposits.

Three key advantages underpin the appeal of wholesale CBDCs: (1) real-time settlement with 24/7 operations, (2) end-to-end payment tracking and transparency, and (3) enhanced resilience through reduced reliance on CBRs.

As more jurisdictions and financial institutions embrace digital assets, wCBDCs may emerge with greater efficiency and performance in the wholesale payments sector.