Fed makes little progress in central bank digital currency race

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Dion Rabouin
·1 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Despite much fanfare in recent months, the U.S. looks to have made minimal progress on the development of or consensus around a central bank digital currency (CBDC), despite advances from other central banks, including China's.

Driving the news: Fed governor Lael Brainard, who is leading efforts on a digital currency as the governor in charge of financial stability, delivered a speech on Monday detailing the state of research and development on CBDCs in the U.S. but provided little new information.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • She also continued to highlight potential risks like financial system fragmentation and consumer protection and financial stability risks.

Between the lines: Brainard occasionally deviated from her prepared remarks during her appearance at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2021 event, including a mention that it was important for Fed policymakers "to follow many central banks' progress on CBDC closely — including China."

  • She also stressed that "we are at the table" as she noted, "Given the potential for CBDCs to gain prominence in cross-border payments and the reserve currency role of the dollar, it is vital for the United States to be at the table in the development of cross-border standards."

State of play: The Fed is behind other central banks in developing a digital currency, and not just China, which began testing a digital version of the renminbi with brick-and-mortar retailers last year and recently expanded to include the e-renminbi in digital wallets linked to Alibaba's Ant Group.

  • Sweden's Riksbank is testing a digital e-krona, and the Bank of Japan is testing a digital yen.

What's next: Fed chair Jerome Powell recently announced that the Fed would issue a discussion paper "outlining our current thinking" on digital currencies in July.

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Recommended Stories

  • WH: Infrastructure ball is in Republicans' court

    The White House says President Joe Biden is “eager to engage” with Republicans on an infrastructure counteroffer after GOP negotiators rejected Biden's latest $1.7 trillion proposal. Talks are at standstill before a Memorial Day deadline. (May 24)

  • Kinzinger: Kevin McCarthy has "failed to tell the truth" about the election

    Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) took aim on Sunday at the leadership of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the day before McCarthy's GOP predecessor hosts a fundraiser for the Illinois lawmaker. Why it matters: Kinzinger has been a prominent critic of Donald Trump and was one of 10 House Republicans who voted in January to impeach the former president. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who endorsed McCarthy as his successor in 2018, will headline the fundraiser for Kinzinger.What he's saying: "I do think that Kevin has failed to tell the truth to the Republicans and to the American people, and it pains me to say it and it's not like I enjoy standing up and saying this," Kinzinger said on Fox News Sunday. He added that the 74 million Americans who believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump do so "because their leaders have not told them otherwise. The people they trust have either been silent or not told them the truth.""My party to this point has said things like it was hugs and kisses, it was ANTIFA and BLM — it was anything but what it was, which was a Trump-inspired insurrection on the Capitol and people deserve to hear the truth."Of note: Kinzinger, one of 35 House Republicans to vote in favor of establishing a bipartisan commission into the events of Jan. 6, also addressed Republican hesitancy to pursue a full investigation out of fear of the political ramifications in the mid-term elections, noting that insurrection will play a role in the 2022 races "anyway.""I think it'll go to 2022 and we’ll look like we're just sitting here denying reality and facts," Kinzinger said.If the commission fails, he warned, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could run a "select committee" and drag the issue into 2024. Go deeper: Backers of Adam Kinzinger launch group to boost his politicsLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene defends comparing mask mandate to Holocaust as Republican colleagues turn on her

    The American Jewish Congress has asked Ms Greene to ‘immediately retract and apologise’

  • Moderna says its COVID vaccine found to be 100% effective in children 12 to 15 two weeks after second dose

    The Moderna vaccine was 93% effective against COVID-19 in teenagers aged 12 to 17 after the first dose and 100% two weeks after the second dose.

  • Biden DOJ appeals release of full memo on why Trump wasn't charged with obstruction

    The memo that recommended Donald Trump not be charged with obstructing Robert Mueller's Russia investigation was ordered to be released.

  • Rob Lowe says Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's move to Montecito means 'the neighborhood is never going to be the same'

    "Once the royals move into your neighborhood, the neighborhood is never going to be the same," Rob Lowe told E! News' "Daily Pop."

  • Trump's Scottish golf courses face potential 'unexplained wealth order' as legal challenge seeks investigation into their all-cash funding

    Donald Trump's purchase of two Scottish golf courses could face new scrutiny after a legal challenge.

  • Driver arrested after vehicle strikes two protesters in Elizabeth City, NC cops say

    Possible hate crime charges are being investigated after the white driver struck the two pedestrians, who are Black, police say.

  • The Biden DOJ is trying to block the release of a 2019 memo that outlined reasons not to prosecute Trump after the Mueller report

    Then-Attorney General Bill Barr cited this memo as one of his reasons not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice following the Mueller report.

  • Halle Berry says she's been on the keto diet for 30 years to manage her diabetes, and it's helped her to 'live proudly'

    Berry was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 22 which kickstarted her health journey, including taking on the high-fat low-carb keto diet.

  • Woman shares tip she learned from police officer dad which saved her from ‘hotel attack’

    The neat trick her stepdad taught her might have saved her life

  • A court reportedly ordered Tesla to pay $480,000 to Norwegian customers who say their cars' battery life dropped after a software update

    Norwegian customers filed a lawsuit against Tesla, claiming a software update on their Model S cars slowed charging speeds and cut battery life.

  • Southwest Airlines flight attendant loses two teeth after passenger assault; inflight incidents at 'intolerable level,' union says

    There were 477 passenger misconduct incidents on Southwest from April 8-May 15, an 'intolerable' level, according to its flight attendants union.

  • Iran approves 7 for presidential vote, bars Rouhani allies

    Iran named the hard-line cleric running its judiciary and six others Tuesday as approved candidates in its June 18 presidential election, barring prominent candidates allied to its current president amid tensions with the West over its tattered nuclear deal. The announcement carried by state television puts judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who is linked to mass executions in 1988, in the dominant position for the upcoming vote.

  • Several people found dead in Ohio shooting

    At least five people were found dead from a shooting on Monday in West Jefferson, Ohio, a suburb of the state's capital and largest city, Columbus, according to local media. At least three people were found shot dead in a building, with more victims dead outside at the same location, though a precise number of casualties was not immediately confirmed, two Columbus-based television stations said. TV stations WSYX and WCMH attributed the information to West Jefferson Police Chief Chris Floyd, who said the shooting took place on a dead-end street, which led him to believe that the victims had been targeted. WCMH said the crime scene was a home in West Jefferson, a town of about 4,000 residents about 15 miles west of Columbus. Police were alerted to the shooting by a passerby who called the emergency number 911. Officers secured the scene and started looking for a suspect and evidence. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Madison County Sheriff's Office were reportedly assisting West Jefferson police in the investigation.

  • Trump's former White House counsel Don McGahn may testify next week on the former president's attempts to intervene in the Russia investigation

    McGahn's testimony had hinged on whether former President Donald Trump would seek to block his participation.

  • Biden's DOJ appeals order to release Russia memo used to clear Trump of obstruction

    The Department of Justice moved late Monday to partially appeal a court order to release a memo then-Attorney General Bill Barr cited to justify clearing former President Trump for obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation.Why it matters: The DOJ's court filing just before the midnight deadline goes against a request from Senate Democrats, who urged Attorney General Merrick Garland in a letter not to appeal Judge Amy Berman Jackson's order earlier this month.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"These misrepresentations preceded your confirmation as Attorney General, but the Department you now lead bears responsibility for redressing them," they stated.The judge in her order called Barr's public characterization of former special counsel Robert Mueller investigation finding "disingenuous" and said the department hadn't been clear about what purpose the memo would serve.Details: The DOJ has handed over other documents to the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in the lawsuit, just not the 2019 Office of Legal Counsel memo, citing in the filing "internal deliberations."More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Maricopa County's GOP recorder: There's 'no legitimate reason' for audit

    Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer on Monday said he had no choice but to get vocal about his opposition to the audit of the 2.1 million ballots cast in his county during the November presidential election. Arizona's GOP-led state Senate used subpoenas to get the ballots, voting machines, and personal information on voters, and hired a Florida-based cybersecurity firm called the Cyber Ninjas to run the audit. There is no "legitimate reason that would have prompted this audit," Richer, a Republican, told ABC News Live's The Breakdown. "It's happening, not because the evidence merits it. All the tests came back clean. The parties themselves oversaw the hand count auditing of 47,000 plus votes." Cyber Ninjas has no experience with elections, and its CEO tweeted in support of former President Donald Trump's false claim that he really won Arizona, not President Biden. Richer said it was "frustrating" that "some professional, legitimate companies did make bids to the Arizona Senate to do this work and we would have welcomed that." The audit will cost taxpayers millions, as Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the chain of custody was broken with the voting machines, and since elections officials don't know what Cyber Ninjas may have done to the machines, they can't be used in future elections. Richer told The Breakdown he planned on remaining silent during the audit, but when an anonymous Twitter account falsely accused Maricopa County of deleting voter files — a claim that Trump was quick to amplify — it "crossed the line. I wanted to stay out of this, but when the good workers of Maricopa County — who are my friends, my teammates, my staff — are accused of unlawfully destroying evidence under my watch, then I had to say something." Maricopa County, he added, is now determining whether it can pursue charges of defamation. More stories from theweek.com5 riotously funny cartoons about GOP resistance to the January 6 CommissionU.S. warns Americans not to travel to Japan, but Japan says that won't affect the Summer OlympicsLate night hosts don't let Marjorie Taylor Greene's mask-Holocaust blunder spoil their COVID-19 parades

  • US Justice Dept appeals order faulting former U.S. Attorney General Barr

    The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said in a court filing it would appeal a court decision faulting former U.S. Attorney General William Barr's handling of the 2019 special counsel report on then-President Donald Trump, a move congressional Democrats had opposed. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had given the Justice Department until May 24 to appeal a decision she issued earlier this month that faulted Barr for how he publicly summarized Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 2019 report.

  • Malaysian official says train crash caused by human error

    A collision between two light rail trains in Kuala Lumpur that injured more than 200 people was caused by a train driver's negligence, according to a preliminary investigation, Malaysia's transport minister said Tuesday. A fully automated metro train carrying 213 passengers collided Monday night with a vacant train that was being driven manually in a tunnel near the Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin towers. It was the first major crash for the 23-year-old metro system.