Creating an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could give Americans more, and speedier, payment options, but it would also present financial stability risks and privacy concerns, the Federal Reserve said in a long-awaited discussion paper released on Thursday.
The paper made no policy recommendations and offered no clear signal on where the Fed stands on whether to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital form of cash in your pocket. The Fed said it would not proceed with creating one “without clear support from the executive branch and from Congress, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.”
