Fed Chair Powell: No immediate plans for US CBDC

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has confirmed to the Senate Banking Committee that the Federal Reserve currently has no plans to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), alleviating concerns over privacy and government surveillance.

During the hearing on Thursday, Powell emphasized that the Fed’s focus remains on maintaining the current banking system structure, where only banks hold accounts with the Fed.

Powell reassured the committee and the public that the concept of a digital dollar is still under study and that implementation is not on the horizon. He stressed the importance of privacy and the traditional role of banks, indicating that the Fed would not support a system that allows government visibility into individual transactions.

Powell’s statements come amid global developments in digital currencies, with other countries advancing their CBDC projects, and political debates in the U.S. regarding the future of a digital dollar.

According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, 19 of the G20 nations are now in advanced stages of CBDC development, with 9 of them in pilot.