Chris Giancarlo is one of the few high-profile officials to have served under both the Obama and Trump administrations. He is a former Wall Street executive that is respected by just about all parties on Capitol Hill. However, as a previous chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, his latest venture, the Digital Dollar Foundation, is likely to check his tender relationships with politicians.

The former regulator is now leading the base on five testing applications to be established this year as a part of a wider attempt to assist the US recover leadership in the race with China for a working CBDC.

However, based on Giancarlo, the U.S. priorities seeing CBDCs should not be kidding:

“What is very clear [is] that China intends to turn its digital yuan into an instrument of government surveillance. […] And that’s one of the reasons we’re so excited about the Digital Dollar Project because we think our new mission is to make sure the central banks wake up the central government and the US Federal Reserve wakes up the values ​​that have brought us here, the rule of law, free capital markets, free enterprise, private economic sectors, are anchored in the new digital future of the US dollar and we will not be compromised China is doing and adhering to this approach of state surveillance. “

The race for the CBDC is not just about preserving existing US values, but also about opening up new forms of value based on smart contracts for more individuals.

“The concept of a digital currency, autonomous or not sovereign, is tied to smart contracts that allow cash to resolve the old issue, move it in location, i.e. text message, but transfer it too in time. Money was momentary, but now with a intelligent contract I wish to program my cash so it will later be passed to one of my grandchildren after college. Learning and all of these layoffs could be programmed. […] With a programmable digital currency now, you can program it to move around the world in area, but move around the world in time. And that, I believe, is a strong construction. “

Ultimately, this work is part of an effort to ensure America maintains technological leadership.

“You cannot stop the journey of technology in time, and if you do, you will become a swamp. We in the United States have always been open to innovation, and we have to be open to it too. In a cautious way that corresponds to our society, which expects investor protection and the role of the state. […] And that’s one of the things I’m happy to be a part of. “

See the complete interview here: