The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion has posted the witnesses on its forthcoming hearing on a digital dollar. Entitled the Digital Dollar Dilemma: The Implications of a Central Bank Digital Currency and Private Sector Alternatives, the hearing is paired with several bills that may limit the ability of the issuance of a central bank digital currency or CBDC.
The witnesses scheduled to testify include:
- Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Asset
- Paige Paridon, Senior Vice President and Senior Associate General Counsel, Bank Policy Institute
- Christina Parajon Skinner, Assistant Professor, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
- Dr. Norbert Michel, Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute
- Raúl Carrillo, Academic Fellow, Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School
The hearing is being paired with several bills that may limit or halt the issuance of a CBDC. These include:
- The “Power of the Mint Act” (HR 3402) which states that the US Federal Reserve may not issue a CBDC without Congressional authority.
- The Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act (HR 3712). This bill blocks the US Federal Reserve from testing a digital dollar unless Congresss asks it to do so
- And finally, the CBDC Anti-Survelliance State Act. This bill aims to prevent the Federal government from using a CBDC to accomplish other goals beyond a means of value transfer.
The issuance of a CBDC has become controversial in the US as observers understand that a digital dollar may open up the door for tracking any transactions by private or public entities. A CBDC could also be leveraged to institute other policy goals or eliminate the need for banks to hold deposits. While no decision has yet been made on the issuance of a CBDC, China is already testing a digital Yuan and the EU appears to be heading down the path of issuing a digital Euro. Some insiders believe that providing a digital dollar will help buttress the currency as the reserve money for the world. At the same time, a stablecoin issuer could accomplish the same goal and, perhaps, with rigorous regulation that ensures privacy and mitigates concerns.
The hearing is scheduled for this Thursday, September 14, 2023, at 2 p.m. It will be live-streamed on the Committee’s website
