FRB Governor Waller Challenges Purported Benefits Of U.S. CBDC

Federal Reserve Board ("FRB") Governor Christopher J. Waller questioned whether the Federal Reserve should "'get in the game' and issue a central bank digital currency that the general public could use."

In a speech before the American Enterprise Institute, Mr. Waller argued that a CBDC would not "solve any existing problem that is not being addressed more promptly and efficiently by other initiatives," and asked "what market failure or inefficiency demands this specific intervention?"

Mr. Waller considered and rejected justifications recently advanced for the issuance of a U.S. CBDC, including:

• the possibility that physical currency will disappear - Mr. Waller noted FRB Chair Jerome Powell's assertion that a U.S. CBDC will not replace U.S. currency;