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US Is “Lagging” Behind World Powers In Developing Digital Currency

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United States is “lagging” behind other major economies in developing a digital version of its currency, according to a recent study by the US-based Atlantic Council think tank. The study found that as 134 countries representing 98% of the global economy are making concerted efforts to produce a digital currency, the US is far behind competing economies such as China, India, Japan, and Europe in doing so.

Like their fellow BRICS members India and China, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa are well ahead in developing their digital currencies.

“The People’s Bank of China, for example, has more than three hundred people dedicated to working on digital currency, the Atlantic Council noted, adding that the US Federal Reserve system has fewer than 20 staff working on a digital dollar. “In the eurozone, the European Central Bank is now in the preparation phase for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC),” the Atlantic Council said.

“The reality is that central banks and legislatures across the Group of Twenty (G20) have moved past debating the theoretical merits and concerns with CBDCs, and instead are actually testing and piloting the technology to see what works and what doesn’t,” the Council said.

The US Federal Reserve is “lagging behind its peers and competitors,” the Council stated. Acknowledging that the Fed has said it does not want to disrupt the dollar, the currency that holds the global economy, the Council asserted nonetheless: “While many are stepping in to fill the innovation gap, including the Bank for International Settlements, the ECB, and the Reserve Bank of India, none can substitute for the issuer of the world’s reserve currency.”