Bitcoin News and Finance Fed Chair Powell Updates Progress of Digital Dollar, Says ‘I Don’t Think We Are Behind’ on CBDC Skip to main content

Fed Chair Powell Updates Progress of Digital Dollar, Says ‘I Don’t Think We Are Behind’ on CBDC

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has shared the progress of the Fed’s work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital dollar. “We are working proactively to evaluate whether to issue a CBDC and, if so, in what form,” he said, adding that he does not believe the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in this area.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Progress of the US CBDC

The U.S. Federal Reserve has not made a decision whether to launch a digital dollar, Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed on CNBC Wednesday.

He was asked for an update of the Fed’s work on central bank digital currency (CBDC). “We think it’s really important that the central bank maintains a stable currency and payments system for the public’s benefit. That’s one of our jobs,” Powell began. “We also live in a time of transformational innovation around digital payments and we need to make sure that the Fed is able to continue to deliver to the public a stable and trustworthy currency and payment system.”

He continued: “There’s extensive private innovation — a lot of which is taking place outside the regulatory perimeter. Innovation is fantastic. Our economy runs on innovation. But, where the public money is concerned, we need to make sure that the appropriate regulatory protections are in place, and today they really are not in some cases.” The chairman of the Federal Reserve added:

So, with that in mind, and with the creation of myriad private currencies and currency-like products, we are working proactively to evaluate whether to issue a CBDC and, if so, in what form.

Powell opined: “We do intend to publish a discussion paper soon that will be the basis for the period of public engagement, engagement with many different groups, including elected public officials around these issues. We think it’s our obligation to do the work on technology and public policies to form a basis for making an informed decision.”

He added: “The ultimate test we’ll apply when assessing a central bank digital currency and other digital innovation is whether clear tangible benefits outweigh any costs and risks.”

The Fed chair proceeded to talk about the current work at the Fed on CBDC, stating:

We really have two broad work streams, one of which is really technology, both at the Board and in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s work with M.I.T. The other is to identify, scope out, deal with, analyze the various public policy issues.

“We’re also investing heavily right now in building a new settlement system for instant payment in the U.S. It will be the first such major expansion of our core payment system since the 1970s. We found the case for this quite compelling for consumers, businesses, and just ensuring that all financial institutions have access to the payment system,” he continued.

Powell concluded: “So, bottom line, we haven’t made a decision about the CBDC, but we will be issuing a discussion paper soon in order to form the basis of this public interaction that we will have.”

Currently, 81 countries are exploring issuing their own digital currencies, according to the CBDC tracker by Atlantic Council’s Geoeconomics Center. Some countries have already issued a CBDC, including China which has been heavily testing its digital yuan.

Powell was further asked whether he was “concerned at all” that the U.S. is getting behind in the area of central bank digital currencies. He replied:

I don’t think we are behind. I think it’s important to do this right than to do it fast. We’re the world’s reserve currency. I think we are in a good place to make that analysis and make that decision, which will be a government-wide decision.

What do you think about the comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on a CBDC? Let us know in the comments section below.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Blogarama - Blog Directory