Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are all the rage across the globe at present as countries and their central banks consider a more efficient monetary system based on the digitization of physical fiat cash. The same goes for the US, where a digital dollar will certainly affect global financial systems at large considering the hegemony of the US dollar in the market, but while the concept of a digital dollar has been broached by the House Democrats early on in March, the US is falling behind many of its counterparts when it comes to the study and testing of CBDCs and for good reason – a majority of US government officials are simply slow to understand and accept technology, or are adverse to technological changes in finance.
According to Perianne Boring, the founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, education is paramount when trying to implement a new monetary system as sophisticated as one involving the creation and distribution of digital currencies. Before lawmakers and the government embark on the first steps to creating a digital dollar, it is first necessary to educate older senators and representatives sitting in Congress as their lack of understanding on the matter can be considered one of the largest obstacles to the US moving forward with a digital dollar strategy.
“Most members of Congress in the United States don’t have a technology background…. People that serve in Congress, their average age is in their 50s, 60s or 70s. So one of the things that we’re actually working on right now with members of Congress specifically is giving them the opportunity to touch the technology, to experience it, to have the opportunity to actually use blockchain and real life,” Boring shared with Forkast.
The private sector is not waiting for Congress, banks or financial regulators to begin the work on a digital dollar, as Accenture and a newly founded non-profit organization, the Digital Dollar Foundation revealed a possible CBDC whitepaper for consideration when the time finally comes to begin the digital dollar project. Outside of the US, its rival China is nearing the finishing stages of its Digital Currency/Electronic Payment (DCEP) project and also considering a regional stablecoin backed by the Korean won, Japanese yen, China yuan and Hong Kong dollar.
You may also want to read: Digital Dollar Project for Future US CBDC
