news US Federal Bank plans to open a digital currency debate

[kyoukage01 3181]

The US has always been flip-flopping on whether or not it should allow digital currencies to enter and influence its economy, without the restrictions imposed as of today. This time, things might become different as the US Federal Reserve finally plans to enter the cryptocurrency market by issuing its own coin. But it's not being hasty about it: it's asking for feedback from experts and the public by opening up a debate this summer, which is to be presumed somewhere between July and August.

 

Below is the video...

 

...and an article about this major news.

Spoiler

Fed, citing crypto risk, to open digital currency debate this summer

By Howard Schneider, Ann Saphir

 

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged the risks of cryptocurrencies in an unusual video message on Thursday that also laid out a clearer timetable for the Fed to consider adopting a digital currency of its own.

 

Highlighting the fast advances in financial technology and the potential benefits involved, Powell said that cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and other innovations “may also carry potential risks to those users and to the broader financial system.”

 

As that technology advances, “so must our attention to the appropriate regulatory and oversight framework. This includes paying attention to private-sector payments innovators who are currently not within the traditional regulatory arrangements applied to banks, investment firms, and other financial intermediaries.”

 

Powell said the Fed would release a discussion paper this summer “outlining our current thinking on digital payments, with a particular focus on the benefits and risks associated” with establishing a central bank digital currency. The Fed will ask for public comment as part of the process.

 

Powell said the Fed wanted to be sure any central bank digital currency provided benefits to consumers and businesses, and noted that “to date, cryptocurrencies have not served as a convenient way to make payments, given, among other factors, their swings in value.”

 

Powell’s statement came just hours after the U.S. Treasury proposed new regulations on the use of bitcoin. Released through video on the Fed’s website, it came amid a volatile week in which cryptocurrency values plunged, and the role of cryptocurrency in ransomware payments was highlighted in the shutdown of a major U.S. gas pipeline.

 

The Boston Fed is currently working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to research the technology that could be used for a central bank digital currency and will be releasing those findings in the third quarter. Powell and other Fed officials however have said they intend to move deliberately to ensure that the benefits outweigh any risks involved.

source: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-crypto-currency/fed-citing-crypto-risk-to-open-digital-currency-debate-this-summer-idUSS0N2MK079

 

There were some attempts by private US companies before in them issuing their own coin, with negative feedback from the US government because of its critical view of cryptocurrencies. Such was the case with Facebook's Diem (formerly Libra). But now, as indicated in the video, the US may have concerns over its standing in the digital currency technology as it acknowledges that it is lagging behind other countries in this field. And not to be left behind, IMO a US government-issued cryptocurrency for them is becoming a necessity for the purpose of staying ahead of other countries in digital currency.

 

Details on how the public is going to provide feedback to the debate has not been discussed in the video and article. Procedures on how to do so may come at a later date, should the preparations on the debate goes smoothly.

 

Also to be expected are the questions everyone might have as a concern. Some of these may be:

• Details of the planned US digital currency (white paper)
• Benefits and risks of that US digital currency
• The role and standing of other digital currencies in the US economy
• Whether or not the currency is available to US citizens only

Any more questions you feel the debate should tackle? Just post them below.

 

P.S. This topic will be updated with the debate itself once a related article is released.

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by kyoukage01

[rekter 8129]

This will be hard nut for US to crack, they are known to track their people in secrecy but they can't do that publicly with cbdc and get approval for that. But CBCD doesn't need to have anything to do with crypto or blockchains because USD is already mostly in digital form already. Cryptocurrencies are just a one possible platform in the future.

 

BTW i am looking at Dusk Network to deliver the platform by the end of the year, that's later going to be suited for CBCDs in europe. But these things can take time to get adopted if they get adopted at all, because they need to be tested really fundamentally, especially when we are talking about state of the art tech that has never existed before.

[kyoukage01 3181]

On 5/22/2021 at 3:04 AM, rekter said:

This will be hard nut for US to crack, they are known to track their people in secrecy but they can't do that publicly with cbdc and get approval for that. But CBCD doesn't need to have anything to do with crypto or blockchains because USD is already mostly in digital form already. Cryptocurrencies are just a one possible platform in the future.

The US is a democracy, so they aren't going to force-feed their CBDC ideals into their own public like *cough* some other countries may do. But there is also a matter of technological supremacy, as other more advanced nations are admittedly ahead of the US when it comes to cryptocurrency and its related technologies (like the Dusk Network you mentioned). These concerns and more might be going to be discussed in the planned debate, let's see what will become of it 😎 .