Bank of America Says US CBDC ‘Inevitable’

The Bank of America has said a digital currency for the U.S. is “inevitable,” and might occur sometime between 2025 to 2030, Bloomberg writes.

Strategists Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss said the idea of a CBDC is an “inevitable evolution” of today’s electronic currencies.

They said in a recent report that the digital currency use from private entities will probably keep growing.

In a paper last week, the Fed discussed developing its own digital coin. It said there wasn’t any concrete plans yet, and that it didn’t want to go forward without support from the White House and Congress.

There could be several benefits, the Fed said: it could help expedite cross-border payments.

But there could be risks too, such as the runs on financial firms and less deposits in the banking systems.

Right now, there’s no actual U.S. CBDC, and so stablecoins will likely keep flourishing for now. Analysts say they “expect stablecoin adoption and use for payments to increase significantly over the next several years as financial institutions explore digital asset custody and trading solutions and as payments companies incorporate blockchain technology into their platforms.”

PYMNTS wrote recently that the Biden administration might also be close to a statement on a full strategy regarding crypto.

Read more: Biden Administration May Soon Release Executive Order on Cryptocurrency

The administration is reportedly working on an executive order, which could offer an “extensive” government strategy on the digital coins.

The report came from unnamed sources. It said the government could direct federal agencies as early as February on determining the risks and opportunities of crypto.

The plan would see the White House playing a “key role” in policies to regulate crypto.

Ex-DOJ Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said last week that crypto should be regulated. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, he said blockchain applications, handled correctly, could “transform the economy.”