Reserve

Jerome Powell

Chair

Donald Trump

A United States central bank digital currency (CBDC) is apparently still a top priority for the Federal Reserve, according to U.S. Representative and CBDC opponent Tom Emmer.
“If you don’t think the Fed is pursuing a CBDC, think again,” <a href="https://x.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1768076698690412746" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">wrote</a> Emmer in a March 14 post on X, sharing a document that was reportedly given to his staff during a Federal Reserve presentation to Congress.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/48d7ec87-c34d-4149-8fb4-1d1e8c8de26e.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://images.cointelegraph.com/1140_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjQtMDMvNDhkN2VjODctYzM0ZC00MTQ5LThmYjQtMWQxZThjOGRlMjZlLnBuZw==.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tom Emmer on </a><a href="https://x.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1768076698690412746" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">X</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Only a week earlier during a March 7 <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/02/29/2024/the-semiannual-monetary-policy-report-to-the-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">hearing</a> before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Federal Reserve Chair <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/federal-reserve-nowhere-near-launching-cbdc-jerome-powell" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Jerome Powell stressed</a> the U.S. is “nowhere near” recommending or adopting a CBDC “in any form.”
The newly surfaced document doesn’t run in contrast with those comments, but confirms the Fed hasn’t lost sight of CBDCs.
Among the seven “Key Duties” of the Fed’s payment systems, include mentions of Automated Clearinghouse and FedNow — two electronic payments systems that could support the Federal Reserve’s ambition to make the U.S. dollar more digital.
The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/money-and-payments-20220120.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">released</a> a paper on CBDCs in Jan. 2022 as part of an effort to explore its potential benefits and risks. The central bank is also overseeing the digital dollar project which has undergone <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-dollar-project-completes-cbdc-retail-remittance-pilot-with-western-union" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">several pilot programs</a> in recent months.
In a statement last April, the Fed <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/central-bank-digital-currency.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> it hadn’t made a definitive decision whether it would adopt a CBDC.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/redefining-money-america-digital-currency-cbdc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Redefining money: America’s digital currency dilemma</a>
CBDCs have been a touchy subject both within and outside the cryptocurrency industry, with fears of an increasingly <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/financial-surveillance-privacy-and-cbdcs-why-are-governments-going-cashless" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">surveilled financial system.</a>
In January, former U.S. Donald Trump vowed to “never allow” <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/donald-trump-former-president-vows-never-allow-cbdc-in-us" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the creation of a CBDC</a>&nbsp;if he were reelected and recently referred to the digital dollar as a “very dangerous” concept.
<blockquote>
 “This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America.”
</blockquote>
U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has also <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-end-cbdc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pledged to fight against</a> the development of the digital dollar, citing CBDCs as a “calamity” for human and civil rights.
Efforts have been made in the U.S. legislature, too, with the House Financial Services Committee recently throwing support behind the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-lawmakers-advance-legislation-blocking-digital-dollar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act,</a> which would prohibit the Federal Reserve from initiating pilot programs to test CBDCs without approval from Congress.​​
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/digital-yuan-adoption-payments-regulation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">How the digital yuan could change the world… for better or worse</a>

Federal Reserve lists CBDCs as one of 7 ‘key duties’ to Congress

Cointelegraph

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