What Will a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency Look Like? (2024)

A U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) would be a tokenized and blockchain-based version of the U.S. dollar, maintained and issued by the Federal Reserve. This form of digital fiat money would be similar to cryptocurrencies in that a blockchain would be used, but a CBDC would be regulated by the Federal Reserve, recognized as legal tender, and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

With a future U.S. CBDC, the public could use another form of central bank money other than physical cash and digital balances held in individual or corporate bank accounts. The United States doesn't yet have a CBDC as of 2024 but it's important to understand the concept with this option under discussion, as well as the benefits and risks attached and steps taken so far.

What Is a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)?

Forms of money have continually evolved since the days when people accepted seashells for payment. A gold standard existed until the arrival of fiat currency. Digital currencies are yet another money metamorphosis.

Fiat currency is a government-issued currency that's not backed by a physical commodity such as gold or silver. It's backed by the government that issues it. This type of money is the dominant means of making transactions in most countries. People use it to facilitate the exchange of goods and services in an economy. Generally, a country's central bank issues fiat currency for the nation's use. The Federal Reserve plays this role in the U.S.

A U.S. CBDC would serve as a complement to existing central bank reserve account balances and widely used fiat currency. As a bonus, it should provide a medium for executing instant and seamless cross-border transactions.

Understanding a U.S. CBDC

Even the Federal Reserve acknowledges the technological innovation of digital assets as a form of money. But the Fed warns that there are risks that might leave customers vulnerable to theft and fraud, despite its understanding of the potential. A U.S. CBDC would present similar pros and cons.

The Fed must be satisfied that it's a safe digital asset accessible to the public before it launches a U.S. CBDC. It must determine that it's without credit and liquidity risks and that it's privacy-protected, intermediated, transferable, and identity-verified.

• Privacy protection implies safeguarding consumers' privacy rights as well as impeding criminal activity.
• Intermediated means that the Federal Reserve would permit the management and payment of CBDC via digital wallets and accounts offered in the private sector, including commercial banks and nonbanks.
• Transferable means that the CBDC would be accessible to U.S. customers regardless of the intermediaries they use, making payment more efficient.
• Identity-verified protections aim to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism by verifying whoever adopts the CBDC.

The Federal Reserve's goals for a CBDC take households, businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers into account by offering more uses and efficiency than fiat or other supplementary monetary options.

Requirements for a U.S. CBDC

Specific requirements must be satisfied before the U.S. issues a digital currency to the public. Some of these developed through years of intensive study by policymakers and Federal Reserve staff include:

• A U.S. CBDC must provide benefits to U.S. households, businesses, and the overall economy that exceed its costs and risks.
• It must yield these benefits more effectively than alternative fiat or physical money.
• The U.S. CBDC should complement rather than replace existing forms of money and methods for providing financial services.
• It must protect consumer privacy and prevent criminal activity.
• It must receive support from critical stakeholders.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a U.S. CBDC

The Federal Reserve has identified the advantages and disadvantages of having a CBDC in circulation. The following are some of the key benefits and risks.

Advantages

A U.S. CBDC should safely meet future needs for payment services and be free of credit risk and liquidity risk for the public.

1. The currency should improve cross-border payments and use underlying technology in a simplified distribution channel for payments, as well as interoperability among different jurisdictions.
2. It should support the dollar’s international role and benefit the public and government by contributing to reducing transaction and borrowing costs.
3. It should be financially inclusive, potentially helping lower transaction costs and assisting lower-income households.
4. It should give the public access to safe central bank funds by increasing the payment options available.

Disadvantages

A U.S. CBDC could affect the financial structure of the U.S. and alter the duties and responsibilities of the private sector and the central bank.

1. The safety and stability of the financial system could be compromised during the conversion process from another form of money to a CBDC. This could trigger instability and even runs on financial institutions.
2. The effectiveness of the nation’s monetary policy implementation could be lessened. It is unknown how a CBDC would affect the interest on reserve balances and how the Fed would use the money supply as a tool.
3. Privacy and data protection issues and financial crimes could threaten consumers’ privacy rights and result in the loss of assets.
4. Operational resilience and cybersecurity could pose problems because a CBDC is prone to the same threats as existing payment services.

Executive Order on a U.S. CBDC

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and President Biden have worked together on launching a U.S. CBDC. The president's interest was explicit when he shared the importance of using technology "to advance democracies to lift people up, not to hold them down."

In March 2022, Biden directed the OSTP, in partnership with other institutions, to scrutinize and come up with a viable answer to the question of digital assets and a U.S. CBDC. The White House placed urgency on creating a digital dollar, outlining plans to guide its creation.

It took the collaborative efforts of several federal agencies six months to come up with the tasks and goals contained in the order.Three core aspects were the result:

• Policy objectives
• Interconnected technical and financial design choices
• A research and development (R&D) agenda

The policy objectives for a U.S. CBDC system require that the CBDC expand equitable access to the financial system, preserve the role of physical cash, and collect only strictly necessary data. These policy objectives formed the foundation for the currency's technical design choices.

The order also pointed to the need for technical experts with good money and payment systems knowledge to oversee the technology involved in building the U.S. CBDC. The order's digital assets R&D agenda is concerned with how cryptography technology can help develop a CBDC that matches the Federal ResReserve'sssion.

Central Bank Digital Currencies Around the World

Eleven countries have concluded their risk and benefits studies on the effects of a CBDC on their economies and have implemented one as a supplement to their existing monetary systems. The 11 mostly small, island countries are the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Jamaica, and Nigeria.

All G7 economies had moved into the development or pilot stages of a CBDC as of June 2024. Canada, France, China, India, and South Korea are among the many countries studying or testing a CBDC. The level of interest has grown quickly. Forty-four other countries had developed an interest in the possibility of having a CBDC as of June 2024.

Differences Between the U.S. CBDC and Cryptocurrency

It is easy to confuse a CBDC and cryptocurrency but they aren’t the same. A U.S. CBDC will be centralized and under the purview of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank. Cryptocurrency is decentralized and gives users more control.

Cryptocurrencies and CBDCs can both run on distributed ledgers or blockchains, but the key differences are in who controls the network and how consensus is reached (and if it is needed). The most successful cryptocurrencies have large networks of users participating in public blockchain consensus. A CBDC would not use a public blockchain, but would likely use a permissioned blockchain or ledger with some transparency attributes of a public blockchain.

The Bottom Line

CBDCs are digital forms of central bank money that are widely available to the general public. They use technology to help include the bankless population in the financial system. The wide usage of CBDCs has led to over 100 countries exploring the possibility of incorporating them into their financial systems.