The dollar is the world’s most powerful currency, and the US has been an export powerhouse for decades. But that position is under threat as other countries launch their currencies. The Federal Reserve’s chief technologists laid out their case for creating a dollar that lives entirely in digital form. They said the question isn’t whether to make it happen, but how. And many people want to see the plan move forward. What’s the Plan? In a recent report, the Fed’s Faster Payments Task Force said that it would take an “unprecedented level of cooperation” from banks and other private-sector players for the US to issue a digital dollar. But it could be done — if technologists, bankers, and regulators work together to figure out the best way to do so. Adoption would require “the coordination of multiple stakeholders across both the public and private sectors,” said the task force created last year by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. The report is the first comprehensive look at how the US banking system could handle a digital dollar — everything from who would develop the technology to what kind of verification process would be needed to ensure security. In its report, the Fed […]
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