The Fed is looking carefully at issuing a digital dollar, Chairman Jerome Powell tells Congress

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Tuesday that it is looking carefully at issuing a digital US dollar.
• Powell called the potential digital dollar a “high priority” project, according to the testimony.
• The potential issuance of a digital dollar would come amid a surge in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which briefly surpassed $1 trillion in market value last week.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Tuesday that the Fed is “looking carefully” at whether it should issue a digital US dollar.

A digital currency developed by the fed is a “high priority project for us,” Powell told Congress, but he added that there are “significant technical and policy questions” related to a digital US dollar.

“We are committed to solving the technology problems, and consulting very broadly with the public and very transparently with all interested constituencies as to whether we should do this,” Powell said.

As the world’s reserve currency, Powell stressed that the US doesn’t have to be first in issuing a digital dollar, but it needs “to get it right.”

“This is something we’re investing time and labor in, across the Federal Reserve system,” Powell said.

The move would come amid a surge in popularity for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. Bitcoin briefly reached $1 trillion in market value last week and traded above $58,000 over the weekend.