Digital Dollar Project to launch five U.S. central bank digital currency pilots
數位美元項目將於五個美國中央銀行啟動數位貨幣測試點 By Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nonprofit Digital Dollar Project said on Monday it will launch five pilot programs over the next 12 months to test the potential uses of a U.S. central bank digital currency, the first effort of its kind in the United States. 華盛頓(路透社)-美國非營利組織Digital Dollar Project週一表示,它將在未來12個月內啟動五個試點計劃,以測試美國中央銀行數字貨幣的潛在用途,這是美國的首次嘗試。
The private-sector pilots initially will be funded by Accenture Plc and involve financial firms, retailers and NGOs, among others. The aim is to generate data that could help U.S. policymakers develop a digital dollar. 私營部門試點最初將由埃森哲公司資助,涉及金融公司,零售商和非政府組織等。目的是生成可以幫助美國決策者開發數位美元的數據。
A partnership between Accenture and the Digital Dollar Foundation, the Digital Dollar Project was created last year to promote research into a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). 埃森哲與數字美元基金會之間的合作夥伴關係,去年成立了數字美元項目,以促進對美國中央銀行數位貨幣(CBDC)的研究。
“There are conferences and papers coming out every week around the world on CBDCs based on data from other countries,” said Christopher Giancarlo, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and co-founder of the Digital Dollar Foundation. 商品期貨交易委員會前主席,數字美元基金會聯合創始人克里斯托弗·吉安卡洛說:“每週都有來自其他國家的數據在世界各地的CBDC上發布會議和論文。”
“What there is not, is any real data and testing from the United States to inform that debate. We’re seeking to generate that real-world data,” Giancarlo added. “目前還沒有美國提供的任何真實數據和測試來為這場辯論提供信息。我們正在尋求生成現實世界的數據,” Giancarlo補充說到。
CBDCs are the digital equivalent of banknotes and coins, giving holders a direct digital claim on the central bank and allowing them to make instant electronic payments. CBDC是紙幣和硬幣的數位等同物,使持有人可以直接向中央銀行提出數位要求,並允許他們立即進行電子付款。
While debit cards or payment apps are a form of digital cash, those transactions are created by commercial banks based on money central banks credit to those banks’ accounts. They are not fully government-backed, can take days to settle, and often incur fees. Cryptocurrencies, meanwhile, are controlled by private actors. 雖然借記卡或支付應用程序是數字現金的一種形式,但這些交易是由商業銀行根據中央銀行貸記到這些銀行帳戶中的貨幣進行的。他們沒有得到政府的完全支持,可能需要幾天的時間才能解決,並經常產生費用。同時,加密貨幣由私人參與者控制。
Central banks around the world, including in China and Europe, are revving up CBDC projects to fend off threats from cryptocurrencies and improve payment systems. 包括中國和歐洲在內的世界各地的中央銀行都在加快CBDC項目的開展,以抵禦來自加密貨幣的威脅並改善支付系統。
As guardian of the world’s most widely used currency, the U.S. Federal Reserve is moving more cautiously. It is working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to build a technology platform for a hypothetical digital dollar, but chair Jerome Powell said last week that it is “far more important” to get a digital dollar right than it is to be fast. 作為世界上使用最廣泛的貨幣的監護人,美國聯邦儲備委員會(U.S. Fed)採取了更為謹慎的行動。它正在與麻省理工學院(MIT)合作,為假設的數字美元建立一個技術平台,但主席Jerome Powell上週表示,正確地獲得數字美元比快要重要得多。
Giancarlo said Powell was correct to be cautious but that as China pushes ahead, the United States must drive a discussion on incorporating U.S. values such as privacy and freedom of commerce and speech into the development of CBDCs. 吉安卡洛表示,鮑威爾謹慎行事是正確的,但是隨著中國的前進,美國必須推動討論如何將諸如隱私,商業自由和言論自由等美國價值觀納入CBDC的發展中。
“It’s vital that the U.S. asserts leadership as it has in previous technological innovations,” Giancarlo added. 吉安卡洛補充說:“至關重要的是,美國必須像以往的技術創新一樣保持領導地位。”
A digital dollar could also boost financial inclusion in the United States, where transaction fees impede the access of many Americans to mainstream financial services, Giancarlo said. 吉安卡洛說,數位美元還可以促進美國的金融包容性,在美國,交易費用阻礙了許多美國人獲得主流金融服務。
The pilot programs, three of which will launch in the next two months, will complement the Fed’s MIT project by generating data on the functional, sociological, business uses, benefits and other facets, of a digital dollar. The data is due to be released publicly. 該試點計劃將在未來兩個月中啟動,其中三個計劃將通過生成有關數位美元的功能,社會學,商業用途,收益和其他方面的數據,對美聯儲的MIT項目進行補充。該數據將公開發布。
Accenture has worked on a number of CBDC projects including in Canada, Singapore and France. 埃森哲參與了加拿大,新加坡和法國等多個CBDC項目。
David Treat, a senior managing director at Accenture, said CBDCs would exist alongside other forms of physical and electronic money, rather than replace them. 埃森哲高級董事總經理戴維·特雷特(David Treat)表示,CBDC將與其他形式的實體和電子貨幣並存,而不是取代它們。
“It’s not a panacea for all money,” Treat said. “We will be using physical cash and coin for some time.” 特雷特說:“這不是萬能的靈丹妙藥。” “一段時間內,我們將使用實體現金和紙鈔及錢幣。”