Chile CBDC Tracker

Chile is currently in the research phase. The Central Bank of Chile issued its first CBDC evaluation in 2022.

CBDC History and Development

In 2022, the Central Bank of Chile issued an evaluation report that claimed that issuing a CBDC would help enhance Chile’s digital transformation while contributing to a “competitive, innovative and integrated payment system that is inclusive, resilient and protects people's information.” However, the Central Bank of Chile concluded that there is not enough information to make a final decision at this time so it will likely conduct years of studies and tests.

In 2024, the Central Bank of Chile published a second report after two years of investigations. The report stated that the central bank has not made any commitments to issue a CBDC, but that it would move forward with further research and pilot studies. With that said, the report also noted that a CBDC may not be the best policy tool to address current issues and that there are serious risks associated with issuing CBDCs.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Chile earned a 94 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. As such Chile ranks highly across nearly all metrics. Even then, however, it’s important to recognize that the creation of a CBDC could open the door to risks to financial privacy and financial freedom.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.