From China to Europe, Digital Currency Efforts Struggle to Gain Traction

That’s the view of Olga Goncharova, a former Binance executive now leading consulting firm Rizz Go, who spoke at the Blockchain Forum 2025 in Moscow.

According to Goncharova, despite years of planning and experimentation, no country has succeeded in driving widespread public adoption of a retail CBDC. While the concept promised innovation, she believes the execution has largely produced digital replicas of what consumers already have—standard fiat currency delivered via apps and online banking.

China’s digital yuan, often seen as the most ambitious CBDC project, has yet to find its footing. Though launched years ahead of other efforts, its actual usage within China’s payments ecosystem remains limited. Despite aggressive state-backed promotion, reports suggest that enthusiasm has waned, especially following the political fallout involving one of the initiative’s early architects.

Meanwhile, Europe is pursuing its own version—the digital euro—but with a different motivation. For the EU, Goncharova says, the focus isn’t public demand but strategic independence. The goal is to reduce reliance on global payments giants like Mastercard and Visa. However, the project faces headwinds, including uncertainty about its technical architecture and resistance from banks concerned about losing market share. The European Central Bank has yet to confirm whether the digital euro will run on blockchain.

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In Russia, development of a digital ruble has been slower than expected. Trials began back in 2022, but full-scale deployment continues to be pushed back. The country’s finance minister has floated a launch timeline for late 2025, though central bank officials appear cautious. According to Goncharova, the digital ruble isn’t aimed at reducing foreign dependence, but at making internal transactions more efficient—assuming the rollout can demonstrate clear value to end users.

Some Russian policymakers are now exploring ruble-based stablecoins instead, citing the rise of similar U.S. initiatives. While a few of these assets have launched, it’s unclear whether they can meaningfully compete with established stablecoins like Tether’s USDT.

Despite significant investments and political backing, the global CBDC push has yet to deliver on its early promises. The future of these digital currencies may depend less on ambition and more on whether they can actually solve problems that the current financial system hasn’t.

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