Lithuania is in the pilot phase. The Bank of Lithuania issued a “digital collector coin” in 2020 that it referred to as being as a sort of trial run to “get the know-how in issuing central bank digital currencies.” While the approach is unique, Lithuania is nonetheless considered to have reached the pilot phase.

CBDC History and Development

In July of 2020, the Bank of Lithuania announced the inaugural issuance of “LBCOIN.” According to popular reporting, the central bank had been working on the project since March of 2018. The issuance began with a pre-sale of 24,000 LBCOINs that were sold in packs of 6 for 99 euros. There were 20 unique tokens featuring portraits of the 20 signatories of Lithuania’s declaration of independence. The 20 signatories were divided into 6 groups (priests, presidents, diplomats, industrialists, academics, and municipal servants) and people that collected one token of each group could exchange their set for a physical silver coin worth around 19 euros.

Bank of Lithuania board member Marius Jurgilas said, “Two years ago we only had one brave idea. Today we turn a new page in the history of numismatics, further exploring the potential of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). This innovation will bring real benefits to society by contributing to future digital solutions.”

The Bank of Lithuania restricted the CBDC to “natural persons, including minors aged 14–18 (with consent of their parents or guardians).” As such, there were still know-your-customer procedures to check if users were on the specially designated nationals list. The central bank further said LBCOIN can only be “exchanged into a physical collector coin, swapped with other collectors, sent as gift, or transferred to a public NEM wallet.”

In January 2023, LBCOIN was shut down and all of the unsold tokens were destroyed by the Bank of Lithuania.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Lithuania earned an 89 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. There have been reports of issues around the treatment of human rights and civil liberties, but most of those issues do not tie directly into the issuance or use of a CBDC. Furthermore, it must be said that the ability of the Lithuanian government to abuse a CBDC directly is debatable because the CBDC that would be used in Lithuania would be provided by the European Central Bank—representing the European Union. 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.