Central Bank Digital Currencies: Bibliometric and Thematic Insights from the Literature

Multinational Finance Journal, 2026, vol. 30, no. 3/4, pp. 1-40
Doi: 10.67454/30-3/4-1 – an open-access journal article

Mattia Calosci, G. d’Annunzio, University of Chieti-Pescara, Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, Italy

Antonino Crisafulli, La Sapienza, University of Rome, Department of Management, Italy

Mattia Giantomassi, La Sapienza, University of Rome, Department of Management, Italy

Saverio Giorgio, G. d’Annunzio, University of Chieti-Pescara, Department of Socio-Economic, Managerial and Statistical Studies, Italy

 

Abstract:

This paper offers a bibliometric and thematic analysis of the literature on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), treating the digital euro as a specific euro-area case within the broader CBDC debate. Drawing on 522 peer-reviewed journal articles from Scopus and Web of Science covering the period 2016-2026, this paper combines performance analysis, science mapping, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) text representation, Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) topic modelling, k-means clustering and interpretive content analysis, using Bibliometrix in R, Python, and VOSviewer. The results show a sharp acceleration in academic output from 2021 to 2025 and identify five thematic areas: technology infrastructure; monetary-financial stability; adoption and trust; digital euro governance and design; regulation and crypto-assets. The paper shows that the field has achieved thematic consolidation but remains only partially integrated across institutional, behavioural, technological, and market-oriented research strands.

 

Keywords:

Central Bank Digital Currencies; Digital euro; Bibliometric analysis; Thematic analysis

 

Citation (APA):

Calosci, M., Crisafulli, A., Giantomassi, M., & Giorgio, S. (2026). Central bank digital currencies: Bibliometric and thematic insights from the literature. Multinational Finance Journal, 30(3/4), 1–40.

Citation (Harvard):

Calosci, M., Crisafulli, A., Giantomassi, M. and Giorgio, S., 2026. Central Bank Digital Currencies: Bibliometric and Thematic Insights from the Literature. Multinational Finance Journal, 30(3/4), pp.1–40.