In the words of Timothy Lane, Deputy Chief of the Bank of Canada, the controller does not see economically viable options for utilizing a potential state digital currency in the country.
Timothy Lane, who tops the Bank of Canada examination on fintech and cryptocurrencies, said that the regulator is working on certain options for applying CBDC, how such an asset might look and operate. But so far, no scenario has been invented in which the national digital currency could defeat its counterparts.
“At the current stage of the project’s development, we do not see such an application. However, the world is developing extremely rapidly, and development seems to have accelerated further amid the coronavirus pandemic,” the official said.
Lane has previously spoken about the possibility of issuing a state cryptocurrency by the Bank of Canada. So far, state-owned cryptocurrencies have more risks than advantages, but the pandemic and the associated crisis create many requirements for the accelerated launch of such an asset.
The idea of launching the digital Canadian dollar at the Bank of Canada appeared back in 2017, but the case did not progress beyond research and public statements. According to Tiff Macklem, who is the chairman of the Bank of Canada, the launch of CBDC requires global coordination of such projects.
