Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says they are looking “very carefully” at the question of whether they should issue a digital dollar. He says there are technical and policy questions to answer about that.
Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Powell said on February 23 that the Federal Reserve is "looking carefully" at whether it should issue a digital US dollar.
A digital currency developed by the fed is a "high priority project for us," Powell told Congress, but he added that there are "significant technical and policy questions" related to a digital US dollar, according to Bloomberg.
"We are committed to solving the technology problems, and consulting very broadly with the public and very transparently with all interested constituencies as to whether we should do this," Powell said.
As the world's reserve currency, Powell stressed that the US doesn't have to be first in issuing a digital dollar, but it needs “to get it right.”
Powell also said that a digital dollar will not have an impact on monetary policy transmission.
"This is something we are investing time and labor in, across the Federal Reserve system," Powell said.
Buisnessinsider says the move would come amid a surge in popularity for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. Bitcoin briefly reached US$1 trillion in market value last week and traded above US$58,000 over the weekend.
