Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said digital payments and the growth of private money are two factors driving the focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Lael Brainard – Federal Reserve Governor

Mrs specified at the 2021 consensus conference that the guidelines are still under review before the US can assess the issue of a digital dollar. Includes maintaining access to “secured central bank money”, increasing financial inclusion, making clearing and settlement more efficient, reducing friction in cross-border payments, increasing bank deposits, protecting both financial stability and privacy.

“While distributed ledger technology has the potential to improve efficiency, increase competition and reduce costs, digital assets harbor high risks, such as those associated with the banking secrecy law. / Anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, price volatility, data protection and compliance. The Federal Reserve is actively monitoring developments in this area, working with the industry and other regulators, and working to identify any loopholes in the regulatory and oversight framework. “

The longtime government official, who served in the US Treasury Department prior to joining the Federal Reserve, has been warning regulators for years to keep an eye on the digital asset space before many authorities took an active role in the industry.

Brainard announced in 2020 that the Fed’s Boston branch is working on central bank digital currency with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. The industry is expected to publish its first report on the study later this summer.

“Unlike central bank fiat currencies, stablecoins do not have a legal status of money,” Brainard said in a statement on Monday. “Depending on the underlying agreements, some people can be put off. Users and businesses are at risk.”

Brainard also warned that the growth in personal money could harm the US payments system, which in turn would increase costs for businesses or households.

She compared this risk to the uncontrollable banking practices of the 19th century in the United States, when a number of private institutions issued their own banknotes. According to her, this era is fraught with inefficiency and fraud.

“It is not a given that new forms of private money refer to fiat, like stablecoins, as they can offer the same protection as bank deposits or fiat.”

Minh Anh

According to Coindesk

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