The US Federal Reserve Chairman named Libra cryptocurrency as a reason to think about central banks issued digital currency (CBDC)

In a hearing in front of the US House Committee on Financial Services, the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powel said that Facebook’s lead cryptocurrency Libra was a reason for the central banks to start testing the possibility of the central bank issued digital currencies (CBDC). He said that the US is still not working on the digital version of dollar, but that the question of the evolution of central controlled money is an open one. He added that: ‘there are many questions that need to be answered around a digital currency, including cyber issues, privacy issues. …we’re going to be working through all of that and doing that work thoroughly and responsibly’.

Earlier in 2019, Mr. Powel stated that Federal Reserves are not considering the emergence of digital dollar.