Schiff Gold: War on Cash: New York Fed Launches “Digital Dollar” Pilot Program

For centuries, human beings have used money. Money is simply a good that allows for the easy trading between any other two goods or services. It eliminates the complications of direct trade or barter.

While money has taken on many forms over the years, for most today, it’s in the form of dollars. Most dollars today aren’t even physical pieces of paper in a wallet. Rather, they’re in the form of digital ledgers in bank accounts.

So while today’s dollar is already mostly digital, the Fed is testing out a 12-week pilot program for a fully digital currency. Dubbed a CBDC, or central bank digital currency, digital tokens will represent bank deposits.

There’s been no decision on whether to fully implement a CBDC. But this trial could move the world closer to the launch of a CBDC.

Under such a program, trading and settlement could occur faster than under the current financial system.

However, it would also mean that the centralized authority would be able to monitor all transactions. Those who value their privacy tend to be against this development.

Many view a CBDC as the next step forward in money. And under the right conditions, it would replace physical cash. Time will tell how that plays out, but those who value cash transactions may see their days as numbered.

To read the full blog on the implications of this development, click here.