While the final version of the subsequent federal stimulus package did not contain such language, Vancouver’s NetCents Technology Inc. was undeterred. The company said it explored, and recently completed, the needed designs to execute the theoretical launch of a “Central Bank Digital Currency” (CBDC).” Management at NetCents, a “disruptive cryptocurrency payments technologies company,” said it believes such legislation is a “foregone conclusion.”
“NetCents jumped into action as soon as it learned of the plans U.S. Congress made to legislate for this U.S. Federal Reserve Digital Currency as part of two different versions of the first COVID-19 Stimulus Bill,” according to the firm's press release. “Ultimately this aspect of the legislation wasn't included in the final version of the first Stimulus Bill, but the Board and Advisors of NetCents have agreed that this ‘Digital Dollar’ will be included in subsequent legislation.”
FROM TWITTER
"New proposal from Simon Potter—former manager of the Fed's Open Market Account—for the Fed to issue a digital dollar. Urgency is rising with China set to pilot digital yuan in Shenzhen this quarter and ultimately to offer it to users worldwide. https://piie.com/system/files/documents/pb20-4.pdf"
NetCents expects any U.S.-backed digital currency to be defined as “a balance expressed as a dollar value consisting of digital ledger entries that are recorded as liabilities in the accounts of any Federal Reserve Bank or ...an electronic unit of value, redeemable by an eligible financial institution.”
NetCents software is designed to support financial institutions required to offer digital wallets, should legislation include such provisions as expected. “We fully support the U.S. Government in its creation of the contemplated Digital Reserve Currency. The U.S. dollar is already the reserve currency of the World—so moving it to a digital format makes total sense. The U.S. might have 63 million unbanked, but the planet Earth has billions of unbanked—it only makes sense that the dollar take a digital form to enable remittance and micropayments for the unbanked globally—as well as ensure its status as the World's dominant currency,” said Clayton Moore, CEO of NetCents.
He went on to say the benefits of such technology would be “innumerable” as the digital currency would be more difficult to use for crime and terrorism. “This milestone is the ultimate endorsement that Cryptocurrency and Blockchain are here to stay,” he said.
In a similar vein, other fintech legislative proposals aimed at COVID-19-related issues continue to be thrown around Congress. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, for example, introduced a new proposal to allow U.S. residents to set up a “digital dollar wallet” called a FedAccount, a free bank account that can also help account owners receive stimulus funds directly and as quickly as possible.
“At the height of this pandemic we must do more to protect the financial wellbeing of hardworking Americans and consumers. They are on the front lines of this crisis and are already feeling the effects of the economic fallout," said Brown. "My legislation would allow every American to set up a free bank account so they don’t have to rely on expensive check cashers to access their hard-earned money, I look forward to continuing to negotiate with my colleagues, and urge them to prioritize people over big banks and corporations.”
