With the development of blockchain technology, private sector digital currencies such as stablecoins have emerged, challenging traditional monetary systems. These innovations threaten not only the use of cash but also the critical role of central banks as safeguards of monetary sovereignty and financial stability. In response, central banks worldwide are actively assessing, developing, or implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This shift necessitates central banks to take on the complex role of orchestrating innovation ecosystems around CBDC development, balancing the needs of diverse stakeholders while addressing technological and institutional challenges. By revisiting ecosystem orchestration and emergence literature, we ask the key research question: How do state actors build ecosystems for technology adoption as a response to global technological or political threats? The project identifies that while universal triggers facilitated the initiation of global CBDC projects, state actors' country-level CBDC ecosystem orchestration strategies demonstrate variance due to country-specific factors and relevant political pressure. In addition, we see initial signs that this new digital form of money may help solve existing financial inclusion problems, inspire innovation, and impact a newly emerging public-private balance in money, assets, and payments. The project aims to develop a new perspective on ecosystem formation orchestrated by state actors as a response to technological innovation in financial services, potentially transforming their roles from regulators into innovators.
