Global Competition for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC): A New Turning Point in Blockchain Technology by 2025
Editor
As of December 2025, central banks around the world are entering a new phase in the competition to develop digital currencies (CBDCs). According to the latest report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 93% of all central banks are involved in CBDC research, with 24 countries already operating pilot programs. Notably, China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) has surpassed a cumulative transaction volume of 180 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion), entering a practical commercialization stage. This movement is regarded as a strategic tool that goes beyond mere technological innovation to reshape the global financial hegemony structure.
The rapid proliferation of CBDCs based on blockchain technology is significantly expanding business opportunities for related companies. Samsung SDS (headquartered in Seoul, Korea) is participating as a core technology partner in the Bank of Korea’s CBDC pilot project, providing distributed ledger technology and security solutions. The company announced that its blockchain business division recorded a 47% year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2025, with sales reaching 89 billion won. LG CNS (also headquartered in Seoul) is actively participating in domestic and international CBDC projects through its self-developed blockchain platform ‘Monachain,’ with blockchain-related orders surpassing 120 billion won in 2025.
Technological Differentiation and Competitive Landscape of the Global CBDC Market
The current global CBDC market is largely divided into three models based on technology architecture and implementation methods. The first is the ‘dual-tier system’ adopted by China, where the central bank distributes digital currency through commercial banks. The second is the ‘direct issuance model’ under consideration by the European Central Bank, where the central bank directly provides digital currency to individuals and businesses. The third is the ‘hybrid model’ preferred by Japan and the UK, which aims to maintain maximum compatibility with existing financial infrastructure while gradually pursuing digitalization.
From a technological perspective, most CBDC projects are built on permissioned blockchains. Unlike public blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum, this structure allows central banks to control network participants. For example, China’s digital yuan demonstrates the capability to process 300,000 transactions per second, similar to existing payment systems like Alipay or WeChat Pay. In contrast, the European Central Bank’s digital euro focuses more on privacy, developing technology to ensure anonymity even in offline transactions.
In the United States, while the Federal Reserve is taking a relatively cautious approach, private companies are actively innovating. IBM (headquartered in New York) supports CBDC research for 15 central banks worldwide through the ‘IBM Blockchain Platform,’ with blockchain-related revenue estimated to reach $2.3 billion in 2025. Microsoft (headquartered in Redmond, Washington) provides Azure cloud-based CBDC infrastructure solutions, particularly popular among central banks in developing countries. The company announced partnerships with 12 countries related to CBDC in the first half of 2025.
In Korea, the Bank of Korea’s CBDC pilot test, which began in 2021, has entered its third phase in 2025, increasing the likelihood of actual commercialization. Notably, SK Telecom (headquartered in Seoul) has developed ‘Quantum Key Distribution’ technology, combining 5G networks and blockchain, significantly enhancing CBDC security. This technology utilizes quantum cryptography communication to create a transaction environment that is fundamentally immune to hacking, and the Bank of Korea has named it the world’s first ‘quantum-secure CBDC.’
Market Impact and Strategic Responses by Companies
The spread of CBDCs is bringing fundamental changes to the existing financial ecosystem. According to the latest analysis by McKinsey, the global CBDC market size is expected to reach $213 billion by 2030, with the Asia region accounting for 45% of this. Particularly, China’s digital yuan is expected to exceed a daily transaction volume of 10 billion yuan (approximately $1.4 billion) by the end of 2025, accounting for 15% of the entire Chinese retail payment market.
In response to these market changes, global technology companies are employing diverse strategies. Samsung SDS established the ‘Asia Blockchain Center’ in Singapore in December 2024, officially targeting the Southeast Asian CBDC market. The company is developing CBDC solutions specialized for Islamic finance in cooperation with the central banks of Indonesia and Thailand, creating new market opportunities targeting the 1.8 billion Muslim population worldwide. Lee Jae-yong, head of Samsung SDS’s blockchain division, emphasized, “CBDC is not just a digital currency but a customized financial infrastructure reflecting each country’s economic policies and cultural characteristics.”
LG CNS is securing a unique position in the market with a differentiated approach. Its ‘Monachain’ is a blockchain platform specialized in interoperability, facilitating seamless exchange and payment between different CBDCs. This is particularly noteworthy in the European Union region, where cross-border transactions are frequent, and the European Central Bank is conducting a ‘cross-border CBDC’ demonstration experiment with LG CNS. The project scale reaches 500 million euros, and if successful, LG CNS is likely to emerge as a key partner in building the entire European CBDC infrastructure.
Globally, IBM’s strategy focuses on ‘enterprise blockchain.’ The company offers comprehensive solutions that support the overall digital transformation of central banks, beyond merely providing CBDC platforms. IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric-based CBDC solution can process over 100,000 transactions per second, ensuring 99.99% system availability. Most commercialized CBDC projects, such as Nigeria’s e-Naira and the Bahamas’ Sand Dollar, are built on IBM technology, and the company announced plans to participate in over 50 CBDC projects by 2026.
Microsoft’s approach is a cloud infrastructure-based ‘CBDC-as-a-Service’ model. Considering the difficulty for developing countries to build their own blockchain infrastructure, it offers turnkey solutions through Azure cloud. Twelve countries, including Ghana, Uruguay, and Cambodia, are already using Microsoft’s CBDC cloud services, with an average monthly service fee of $500,000 per country. The company plans to launch an ‘AI-based CBDC management system’ in the second half of 2025, supporting central banks in executing monetary policies more precisely.
SK Telecom, a leading player in the Korean telecommunications industry, approaches the CBDC market from a unique perspective of integrating 5G and blockchain. Its ‘5G-Blockchain Integrated Platform’ is evaluated as a next-generation CBDC infrastructure capable of real-time large-scale transaction processing. It is particularly specialized in automatic payment systems between IoT devices, realizing future payment scenarios such as autonomous vehicle parking fee payments and smart home electricity bill settlements. SK Telecom launched a ‘vehicle CBDC payment system’ pilot service with Volkswagen in Germany in October 2025, aiming for commercialization by 2026.
A noteworthy technological advancement is the application of ‘Zero-Knowledge Proof’ technology to CBDCs. This technology allows the verification of transaction validity without revealing the identities or transaction amounts of the parties involved, addressing the privacy issues of CBDCs. It is being pilot tested in the European Central Bank’s digital euro project, with initial test results showing a 20% improvement in transaction processing speed and over 90% enhancement in privacy protection compared to existing systems.
Market experts identify ‘interoperability,’ ‘scalability,’ and ‘security’ as key factors determining success in the CBDC competition. Linda Pawson, Deloitte’s global blockchain leader, stated, “2025 will be the year when CBDCs move beyond the proof-of-concept stage to measure their impact on actual economic activities,” predicting that “the strategic positioning of technology companies will determine the blockchain market landscape for the next decade.” According to Gartner’s latest report, investment in CBDC-related companies is expected to increase by 340% compared to 2024, reaching $18 billion, with 60% concentrated in the Asia region.
Changes in the regulatory environment also significantly influence market trends. The European Union passed the ‘Digital Euro Act’ in June 2025, clarifying the legal status of the digital euro, and the United States is actively discussing the establishment of federal CBDC guidelines. Korea enacted the ‘Digital Currency Special Act’ in September 2025, laying the legal foundation for CBDC commercialization. The concretization of these regulatory frameworks positively impacts companies’ investment decisions, particularly enabling long-term business planning.
The growth of the CBDC market also provides new opportunities for the existing fintech ecosystem. Traditional payment service providers are focusing on developing integration services with CBDCs, and new business models are emerging. Examples include ‘CBDC wallet services,’ ‘CBDC-based microloans,’ and ‘CBDC asset management services.’ Market research firm Frost & Sullivan announced that this CBDC ecosystem service market is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2030.
Analyzing the achievements of countries leading the CBDC development competition reveals interesting patterns. In China’s case, rapid expansion is achieved under strong government leadership, but there are limitations in terms of international compatibility. In contrast, the European Union, despite a somewhat slower pace, focuses on privacy protection and compliance with international standards, likely leading global standards. Korea and Japan are pursuing a balance of technological completeness and practicality, competing for the role of CBDC hub in the Asia region.
From an investor’s perspective, the stock performance of CBDC-related companies has been very positive in 2025. Samsung SDS rose 67% compared to the beginning of the year, and LG CNS increased by 54%. SK Telecom, despite the overall sluggishness of telecommunications stocks, recorded a 15% increase due to growth expectations in its blockchain business division. Among global companies, IBM rose 32%, and Microsoft increased by 28%, recognizing their value as CBDC theme stocks. James Cooper, a blockchain analyst at Goldman Sachs, evaluated, “The CBDC market is still in its early stages, but it is already generating substantial revenue and profits, making it highly attractive for investment.”
Looking ahead, 2026 is expected to be the ‘year of popularization’ for CBDCs. China’s digital yuan will begin to be used in cross-border transactions, and Europe’s digital euro is likely to officially launch beyond pilot services. Korea also aims for CBDC commercialization in the second half of 2026, indicating that the global CBDC ecosystem will be fully formed. These changes will provide unprecedented growth opportunities for related companies, and at the same time, it will be a period where winners and losers are clearly distinguished based on technological capabilities and market responsiveness. The digital currency revolution based on blockchain technology is now on a full-fledged trajectory, heralding fundamental changes in the global financial system.
