Bank of Canada Is Ready to Issue Its Digital Currency If Necessary

If necessary, the Central Bank of Canada is ready to issue its own CBDC but does not plan to do this in the near future. This was announced at the RDV 2020 conference in Montreal by Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Tim Lane.

He noted that if the world begins a massive transition to digital currencies of regulators, the Canadian Central Bank is ready to launch a coin for its market. Central Bank experts have already held several consultations with representatives of the financial and IT sectors in order to work out a mechanism for issuing such an asset with them.

“If one or more alternative digital currencies threatened to become used widely as an alternative to the Canadian dollar, then a central bank issued digital currency could be used to defend monetary sovereignty,” Lane said regarding preparations for a potential central bank digital currency in Canada.

Now the regulator considers private cryptocurrencies as a potential threat to the Canadian dollar. But if a digital version of the national currency (CBDC) is released, then the Bank of Canada will be able to ensure with its help the financial sovereignty of the state, the official concluded.

Note that China intends to release a digital version of the renminbi by the end of this year. Currently, the work to create a token has slowed down a bit due to an outbreak of coronavirus, however, the central bank does not intend to abandon its project.

Author: Marko Vidrih

Featured image credit: Freepik