US digital dollar is “nowhere near” development, says Federal Reserve chair

Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell spoke before the Senate on Thursday, stating that the US was “nowhere near” CBDC development. Powell said that the Fed were not close to implementing a digital dollar, as it has no interest in a system that would require user data, saying that the US government would not back a service where the government would be able to see and monitor citizens’ transactions. “We’re nowhere near recommending – or let alone adopting – a central bank digital currency in any form,” Powell stated, adding: “people don’t need to worry about it.” Powell continued that if they were to implement a digital dollar in the future, it would be through the banking system and not the Federal Reserve. Powell stated that central bank will need authorisation from the White House and Congress to move forward with a US digital currency. While CBDC research is currently preliminary, there has been an outcry from Republican politicians, such as Donald Trump, opposing the integration of a digital currency. Senator Ted Cruz, who authored an act to block the Federal Reserve from supporting CBDC in February, stated that the digital currency would be used to track citizens.