The US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says there is no pressure to rush any central bank digital currency development plans, although, the agency is currently weighing the benefits and cons but is yet to make a decision.
Powell announced during a news conference on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve is considering the possibilities of launching a digital currency and wants to publish a paper on the subject.
Powell responded to queries at the news conference by saying, “We are working proactively to issue a CBDC and, if so, in what form.”
“We think it is our obligation to do the work both on public policy and technology to form a basis for making an informed decision. The ultimate test we will apply when assessing a central bank digital currency and other digital innovations are there clear and tangible benefits that outweigh any cost and risks.”
Despite the fact that several central banks have launched their own CBDCs, Powell stated that the Fed is not in a rush to follow suit.
The Fed Chair stated that the focus is not on speed but on getting things right and that the United States is not behind the curve on CBDC innovation.
CBDCs have risen to the fore in the global financial regulators’ and government policymakers’ anti-crypto discourse.
HSBC has lately come out in support of CBDCs against cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, as previously reported by Cointelegraph.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a crypto opponent, has said that CBDCs are “real digital public money,” as opposed to crypto, which the Senator has been known to denounce.
CBDCs, according to Wall Street Journal columnist James Mackintosh, might lead to “truly negative interest rates.”
Chris Waller, the governor of the Federal Reserve, has previously claimed that CBDCs are “a solution in search of a problem.”
