Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker says it’s “inevitable” that the US Federal Reserve and other central banks will start developing their own digital currencies.
Harker, whose comments came during a community banking conference on Wednesday, also cautions that the US should not be among the first few countries to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
He notes,
“Frankly I don’t think we should be the first mover as a nation to do this.”
The former president of the University of Delaware adds,
“It is inevitable … I think it is better for us to start getting our hands around it.”
Harker made his comments in response to a question regarding the Federal Reserve’s decision to develop a real-time payments and settlement system dubbed “FedNow”.
Says Harker,
“I am looking at the next five years after [FedNow launches]. What comes next? I do think it is something around digital currency.”
US Congressmen French Hill and Bill Foster recently issued an open letter to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in which they ask the Fed to consider the creation of a “nation digital currency” due to the rise of cryptocurrencies and their ability to rival paper money.