Powell's CBDC Puzzle: Deciphering Where the Fed Stands

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was recently questioned over growing concerns that a US central bank digital currency, or CBDC, might be launched in the near future. Central banks around the world are leading the charge for CBDCs, so it came as a welcome surprise for many when Chair Powell said, "We're nowhere near recommending or adopting a [CBDC]." Still, there are several open questions that need to be addressed. When testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Chair Powell said, "We're nowhere near recommending or adopting a [CBDC] but ... the thought was that the government could create a digital form of money that people could then transfer among themselves." Powell went on to say, "Now, of course, that raises a concern that if that were a government account, then the government would see all your transactions." He then said that is not something "we would stand for or do or propose here in the United States"--a questionable statement given the surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act regime, but a welcome one.