From the Consensus 2020 conference on Monday, there is a lot that was revealed about the Digital Dollar Project in the ask me anything (AMA) session. Three leaders went at length to give their opinion on the future of money in the United States.
The speakers during the AMA session were Daniel Gorfine and Christopher Giancarlo, who both worked as CTFC, one as a head of financial technology and the other as a chairman. The third speaker was David Treat, who is a senior executive at Accenture that is in partnership with the Digital Dollar Project.
According to Giancarlo, who is more like the visionary behind the project, the ultimate goal of the project is to make sure that the dollar serves people well in the 21st century. He emphasized there was a need for an infrastructural change in the financial system. Contrary to expectation, the digital dollar does not aim to displace the system but rather to enhance it.
The crisis has been the main highlight of the weaknesses of the current financial system, and that has led to a drive to work more towards the digital dollar project. According to Giancarlo, the project aims to improve the system through technology but, at the same time, maintain the values and privacy that is offered by paper currency.
There are a lot of concerns from the crypto community that the rise of the digital dollar or a digital currency controlled by the central bank, can threaten the current privacy with cash.
According to Treat, the project plans to embrace the KYC policies as is required by the law.
Just like fiat currencies, with the dollar project, you can also set your thresholds and limits, said Gorfine. There is a limit to the number of cash transactions that the government can track.
Even though there is a lot that is planned about the Digital Dollar Project, it may not take off in some countries. Giancarlo raised concerns over China abusing human rights and its plan to launch the digital renminbi. When the US dollar offers privacy in addition to other roles, it will make it stronger than other currencies, and that will give it a stronger edge.
During the AMA session, there was a consensus poll on when the adoption of the digital dollar. From the survey, 42% of those polls believed that it would take three years for the digital dollar to take off, 32% think it will take five years, and 7% think that it will never take off.
The topic has caught the interest of many regulators as it was anchored through a speech by the representative of the European Central Bank on CBDCs.
Image from Flickr.com
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