Which country was the first large economy to roll out a CBDC?

China was the first large economy to roll out a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), known as the Digital Renminbi or e-CNY. The People's Bank of China initiated pilot programs for the Digital Renminbi in 2020, focusing on major cities and specific use cases. This program aimed to enhance the efficiency of the payment system, improve financial inclusion, and provide the government with better control over monetary policy and data.

China's early adoption of a CBDC reflects its proactive approach to financial technology and digital innovation, as well as its efforts to contend with the growing influence of private digital currencies and stabilize its economic landscape in the digital era. Other countries, while exploring or even testing CBDCs, had not executed a rollout comparable in scale to China's initiative at that time.