According to CoinDesk, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assured the Senate Banking Committee that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S. would not be built in a way that allows the government to spy on people. Powell stated that the Fed is not close to recommending or adopting a CBDC and emphasized that people do not need to worry about it. He added that if the Fed ever got closer to building a digital dollar, the banking system would be enlisted to manage people's accounts, ensuring no government access to transaction data.
Powell contrasted the U.S. approach with China, where the government can track user activity in its digital currency. He mentioned that if the U.S. were to ever implement a CBDC, it would be done through the banking system, and the Federal Reserve would not want individual accounts for Americans. Powell and other officials have previously stated that the central bank will await specific authorizations from Congress and the White House before moving forward on a digital dollar. In response to a question from Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Powell reiterated that the Federal Reserve cannot introduce a U.S. CBDC without congressional authorization.
