On Tuesday, the central banks of Britain, Japan, the euro zone, Sweden and Switzerland announced that they will be teaming up with the Bank for International Settlements to assess potential use cases for digital currencies.
Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) have gained more attention among world financial leaders since Facebook
Though many are privacy concerns surrounding Facebook creating a currency, major institutions are beginning to access their own protected digital currencies to keep up with rapidly growing technology.
"The group will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies," the group disclosed.
This group of countries are not the only financial leaders that are exploring the potential digital future. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo recently announced that he will be working with former LabCFTC Director Daniel Gorfine and investor Charles Giancarlo want to create a digital version of the U.S. dollar without the help of the Federal Reserve.
The three have formed the not-for-profit Digital Dollar Foundation and will be working with the company Accenture to design and push for a potential U.S. central bank digital currency.
The digital form of the U.S. currency is planned to work in line with other existing Federal Reserve liabilities. The new currency will, "meet the demands of the new digital world and a be a cheaper, faster and more inclusive global financial system," the group's press release reported. Accenture will work as the chief architect and technology in the partnership.
The group's multi-part plan will create potential designs and proposals, work with economists as lawyers, academics, and technologists to evaluate the currency, and create a framework for testing the new digital system. The group aims to make digital dollar transactions as seamless and easy as sending a text message.
"A digital dollar would help future-proof the greenback and allow individuals and global enterprises to make payments in dollars irrespective of space and time," J. Christopher Giancarlo stated.
China has also announced that the nation may soon be ready to launch its own CBDC, a currency that could take on the dollar as to dominate global financial system.
At this time, it seems that it's a more of a sprint than a marathon race between the global elite towards the digital currency finish line.
