U.S. Public Policy & Crypto Watch: US Govt Officials, Regulators To Begin CDBC Discussions In Coming Months

In the coming months, officials from the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the White House will begin to meet to discuss a possible Central Digital Bank Currency (CDBC) and other payments innovations, a senior Treasury Department official said this week.

She said that policymakers are evaluating whether a U.S. CBDC is in the national interest. As part of this effort, Treasury is leading an interagency CBDC Working Group to develop recommendations related to policy objectives: global financial leadership; national security; and privacy, illicit finance, and inclusion. “Even as these deliberations continue, we recognize the importance of helping to shape global CBDC outcomes by actively participating in global standard-setting initiatives and by sharing technology and technical expertise with other jurisdictions that are developing CBDCs,” Liang added.

“To support these discussions, the CBDC Working Group is developing an initial set of findings and recommendations,” Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Nellie Liang said. “These may relate to whether a U.S. CBDC would help to advance the policy objectives … the features that a U.S. CBDC would need to advance these objectives; options for resolving CBDC design trade-offs; and areas where additional technological R&D would be useful.”

Liang said the Biden Administration’s policy objectives for a potential CBDC are: