US lawmaker lays out case for a digital dollar

[Tamsialu$$]

"It is now time for Congress to begin the process of considering and ultimately passing authorizing legislation for the issuance of a U.S. CBDC," said Representative Jim Himes. Connecticut House of Representatives member Jim Himes has released a proposal aiming to start a dialogue on the United States potentially launching a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.

In a white paper released on Wednesday, Himes urged Congress to begin exploring the rollout of a digital dollar issued by the Federal Reserve to prevent the government from falling behind in innovations in financial technology. According to the U.S. lawmaker, a CBDC “should not be thought of as replacing legacy payment systems and currencies but as an additional alternative for consumers and businesses.”

The white paper laid out a proposal in which a CBDC could present concerns over transparency, security and privacy when compared with fiat currency. Himes added that any regulatory framework on CBDCs enacted by Congress should include “strong user identification processes that require intermediaries to certify the identity of wallet holders,” with the Federal Reserve and “participating commercial entities” establishing guidance.more

[Alcor]

Indeed, the United States is already far behind many states that have long been developing, preparing to issue, or have even released their national digital currencies, called CBDCs. First of all, this concerns China, which has been developing its digitalized yuan since 2017 and launched it this year in time for the Winter Olympics held there.
Moreover, all states that study this issue agree that CBDC is much faster, cheaper, more transparent and safer than their usual non-cash currency, which has long been morally and physically obsolete. So Jim Himes is right to urge Congress to urgently start developing its own digital dollar. The emergence of many state-owned CBDCs may also accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies around the world, because CBDCs usually use the same blockchain technology as cryptocurrencies.