June 3, 2020
The former CFTC chairman is the founder and director of The Digital Dollar Project, a multi-stakeholder initiative to advance exploration of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Senior counsel Chris Giancarlo details an approach for developing a national digital currency in a recent white paper authored by The Digital Dollar Project.
The paper, “Digital Dollar Project – Exploring a US CBDC,” outlines a successful model for a tokenized digital dollar that has the same legal status as physical currency. It would complement existing forms of money and be distributed through commercial banks and regulated money transmitters, but would be “recorded on new transactional infrastructure, potentially informed by distributed ledger technology.”
The paper also notes how the creation of a digital dollar offers the potential for new market opportunities, broader access to US dollars, greater market transparency, reduced costs, and increased efficiencies.
As Chairman and Chief Executive of the CFTC, Mr. Giancarlo oversaw regulation of the futures, options and swaps derivatives markets, including a focus on regulatory guidance for emerging technologies such as blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. During his tenure, he oversaw the first bitcoin futures products entering the marketplace and applied a “Do No Harm” regulatory approach towards blockchain technology.
The full white paper can be accessed here.
