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Anyone worried about the adoption of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by the United States government no longer need to worry about it. So said the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, stating the institution would be “nowhere near recommending” a CBDC.
The clarification comes at a time when rumors about the Biden administration’s plans for a CBDC have soared, leading to lawmakers already taking action against such a move. The digital currency has been seen by many as a form of government surveillance, resulting in widespread criticism and opposition.
In the meantime, governments around the world continue to explore the possibility of issuing their own CBDC. Hong Kong and Russia became some of the latest regions to take steps toward the issuing of a CBDC, with the former piloting a sandbox while the latter hints at an intercontinental payment system.
Speaking to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, James Powell dispelled the rumors of work by the Federal Reserve to launch a CBDC. His remarks came as the chair of the U.S.’s central bank answered questions during the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.
Powell stated that the Federal Reserve is “nowhere near recommending or let alone adopting a CBDC”, which is why people didn’t “need to worry about it”. He also pointed out that if there was to be a CBDC in the future, all of it would take place in collaboration with the existing banking system.
Fear about the government using a CBDC to track the financial movements of millions of Americans has risen over the past years. The Biden administration first stoked that fear when it said it “encourages the Federal Reserve to continue its ongoing CBDC research, experimentation, and evaluation” back in 2022.
When questioned by Senator Cynthia Lummis if he still agreed that the Reserve didn’t have the authority to introduce a CBDC “without congressional authorization”, Powell replied, “Yes, I do”. Many lawmakers have already taken a stance on CBDCs with a group led by Senator Ted Cruz introducing legislation to ban “the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy” back in late February.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the creation of a sandbox to officially launch its wholesale CBDC (wCBDC). The pilot, which goes by the name of Project Ensemble, seeks to “explore innovative financial market infrastructure that will facilitate seamless interbank settlement of tokenized money through wCBDC”.
Wholesale CBDC is a type of CBDC designed to be used by financial institutions to settle the transaction of tokenized assets and interbank payments. The new sandbox will allow participants to test their internal products starting in June of this year with the participation of financial institutions like HashKey Group.
The move represents Hong Kong’s latest incursion in the exploration of blockchain financial products, which started as far back as 2021. The HKMA has partnered with HSBC, Ant Group, and Hang Seng Bank in the past to test the application of retail CBDCs through its e-HKD pilot.
The United States and Hong Kong are not the only governments to consider the implications of the widespread adoption of CBDCs. The Russian government has started considering the creation of a CBDC-based payment system that could unite China and Russia with fellow BRICS members.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov expressed his belief that this initiative “would be convenient and safe for trade participants” while also allowing them to operate independently of “Western unfriendly infrastructure. The new BRICS Bridge system is seemingly ready to start testing, with the Russian government awaiting other countries to “express such a desire”.
While Siluanov didn’t confirm interest by any specific government so far, he suggested that countries in the EAEU and the Persian Gulf could join China in testing the new system. With many countries in the region being targeted by Western sanctions, interest in a separate intercontinental payment system could escalate quickly.
Russia has been pushing for widespread adoption of CBDC among its allies for years. The announcement of the BRICS Bridge system is the culmination of rumors that started in 2022 when reports suggested the country could start trading with China through CBDC next year.
The post Fed Chair Quiets CBDC Rumors as Russia and Hong Kong Embrace CBDCs appeared first on Blockonomi.
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