Fed Chair Powell Says Digital Dollar Is A ‘High Priority Project’

Fed Chair Powell Says Digital Dollar Is A ‘High Priority Project’

Share to Linkedin As institutional interest in cryptocurrencies grows following bitcoin's blistering rally at the beginning of the year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is looking closely at the prospect of issuing a "digital dollar." Digital central bank currencies are forms of money issued by a country's central bank that exist entirely electronically, without any connection to physical bank notes or coins. They're different from decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which aren't controlled by one central player, though some of the underlying technology is the same. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed that same view on Monday: "Too many Americans don't have access to easy payments systems and banking accounts, and I think this is something that a digital dollar, a central bank digital currency, could help with," she said. Yellen also suggested that a digital central currency could help make payments faster, safer and cheaper (that's because proponents of the technology say it will help simplify complicated, often days-long settlement processes). Powell said Tuesday that since the U. S. dollar serves as the world's reserve currency, it's more important to get the project right than it is for the United States central bank to be first to