US Lawmakers Propose Fed To Consider a ‘National Digital Currency’, NYDFS Looks for Crypto-focused Hiring

Cryptocurrencies have pulled the attention of global regulators and government, and the United States is no different. Two US Congressmen from the Republican parties have proposed the Federal Reserve to consider the possibility of having a national currency.

According to the letter accessed by Bloomberg, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) wrote to Fed Chairman Jeremy Powell the risk to the financial dominance of U.S. Dollar if other powerful economies were to create their own digital currency.

It seems the letter is clearly hinting towards China’s accelerated moved in having a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The two congressmen wrote that the Fed too holds a power to manage the currency policy in the U.S.

The Congressmen wrote: “The Federal Reserve, as the central bank of the United States, has the ability and the natural role to develop a national digital currency. We are concerned that the primacy of the U.S. Dollar could be in long-term jeopardy from wide adoption of digital fiat currencies. Internationally, the Bank for International Settlements conducted a study that found that over 40 countries around the world have currently developed or are looking into developing a digital currency.”

The two Congressmen asked the Fed to look into this matter urgently into this matter. With digital currencies presenting a low-cost and quicker way to transfer money online, the representatives think that the Federal Reserve should consider it seriously.

US-based social media giant Facebook is already working on launching its Libra cryptocurrency. However, banks and regulators have raised several objections to this project questioning Facebook’s ability to execute this huge project.

On the other hand, financial regulator - The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) - is looking to hire a deputy superintendent who has a special “focus” on cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

The job posting by NYDFS looks for a position in the regulators recently created Research and Innovation Division which looks after the licensing of the cryptocurrency firms.

The key responsibilities of the person hired to this position will be to look after the policy framing for the crypto market and guide them to attain different licenses like the BitLicense.