Poland is in the research phase. Narodowy Bank Polski governor Adam Glapiński said that the central bank is “monitoring closely the progress of work in the field of CBDC issuance worldwide in order to be able to take appropriate action also in Poland, should the need arise.” Currently, the official stance of Narodowy Bank Polski is that “The current circumstances in Poland do not justify the rationale behind the launching of the pilot tests on CBDC issuance or digital currency implementation by other central banks. Until now NBP has not identified a systemic objective for the issuance of digital zloty or any specific needs of consumers or business entities that could not be satisfied by payment service providers in Poland but only through the central bank through the introduction of CBDC. The results of the analyses conducted show no clear benefits from the introduction of central bank digital currency in Poland versus the identified risks related to its issuance for the economy, cash circulation and the financial system.”

A full analysis of the CBDC developments in Poland and Poland’s treatment of civil liberties is forthcoming.

In the meantime, 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.