Patrick Harker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, has claimed central bank digital currencies are inevitable.

However, the financier believes the United States should not lead the way, given the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency.

According to a Reuters report on Oct. 2, he told a community banking conference:

“It is inevitable... I think it is better for us to start getting our hands around it.”

Not in the near future

Harker made his remarks in response to a question about the Federal Reserve’s decision to develop its own instant payments system — known as FedNow — that was announced at the beginning of August. He said:

“I am looking at the next five years after that. What comes next? I do think it is something around digital currency.”

As Cointelegraph recently reported, banks at the Federal Advisory Council have told the Federal Reserve that Facebook’s crypto project Libra will potentially create a “shadow banking” system — risking a potential decline in demand-deposit accounts and bank payment volumes.