Fed's Waller 'Highly Skeptical' of Utility of a U.S. Digital Currency

Source: American Banker

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller Friday methodically explained his opposition to the development of a U.S. central bank digital currency, taking aim at some arguments that his fellow board members had put forward in recent weeks.

Speaking at a symposium sponsored by the Harvard National Security Journal in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, Waller said that though his views on CBDCs are "well known" he remained "highly skeptical of whether there is a compelling need for the Fed to create a digital currency."

"Advocates for creating a U.S. CBDC often assert how it is important to the long-term status of the dollar, particularly if other major jurisdictions adopt a CBDC. I disagree," Waller said. "The underlying reasons for why the dollar is the dominant currency have little to do with technology, and I believe the introduction of a CBDC would not affect those underlying reasons."