The Global Race Toward Digital Money
and the U.S. isn't even in the game
Ric Edelman: It's Wednesday, September 25th, and I talked to you a few weeks ago about stablecoins. If you missed that show, the link is in the show notes, I now want to elaborate for you on a topic I only briefly touched on in that podcast...a government run stable coin known as a CBDC, a central bank digital currency.
This is a very divisive conversation in Congress. Many oppose the notion of the government creating a CBDC. Others are strongly in favor of it. Frankly, I don't think the U S Congress is going to have a choice in the future because everybody, everywhere else around the world are going to be moving on.
And it'd be kind of crazy for the U.S. to be the only one not in the game. I'm confident that the Congress can create laws that will satisfy everybody regarding the regulation, administration, and operation of this concept. but there is no question that a digital dollar is in our future.
They technically already exist in the form of stablecoins. These are coins, as I mentioned in the prior podcast, where you give them a dollar and they place your dollar into U.S. treasuries. And so it is a one-to-one correlation. One stablecoin equals $1. That's what a CBDC is. The difference is, instead of it being issued by a private company, it's issued by the Fed. It turns our money into cash.
Digital...just like we handle every other aspect of our lives these days digitally In fact the head of the International Monetary Fund says that CBDC's can replace cash and offer resilience The benefits, he says, range from islands where storms can knock out banks for weeks to countries that have unstable economies, as well as improved resiliency for established nations.
Governments worldwide say that CBDCs can improve cross border payments and increase financial inclusion by bringing financial services to people who are unbanked. An unbanked individual is somebody who doesn't have enough money to open a bank account because banks have account minimums where they charge large fees for small balances, or you simply live too far from a bank to make working with the bank convenient. That's not only an issue in a lot of countries around the world, it's an issue here in America for people who live in rural areas.
In fact, the Central Bank of South Korea, their version of our Fed, says that a CBDC could solve the risks of stable coins, which, in essence, are private operations, and, therefore, less secure and trustworthy than a government bank coin. South Korea is working on a CBDC pilot and plans to test it with 100,000 people next year.
Saudi Arabia is doing a trial with China's CBDC, and that's the problem. With the U. S. lagging here, other countries are moving ahead with China, to our detriment. There are 135 countries, we're talking 98% of global GDP, that are exploring central bank digital currencies right now. China's pilot program is now involving 260 million people. India, Brazil and Russia all plan to launch their digital currencies within two years. The European Central Bank of the European Union is set to do this in 2028. But here in the U.S., Republicans in the House passed a bill banning the Federal Reserve from creating a digital dollar.
I don't think that position is going to withstand global competition. We're going to have to wait and see.
Ric Edelman: Join me today at 1:00pm EDT, as I present to you, our webinar on unlocking alpha and crypto equities: Unlocking Alpha in Crypto-Equities and Beyond Chris Rhine, the Portfolio Manager at Galaxy Digital is going to join me. We're going to talk with you about how to invest in stocks that are engaged in the crypto space.
It's going to be a terrific webinar. I hope to see you there. It's free. You can register by using the link in the show notes. If you're a financial advisor, you get one credit. See you this afternoon at 1:00pm EDT
I'm glad you're with me here on The Truth About Your Future.
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I'll see you tomorrow.
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Links from today’s show:
September 16th TAYF episode: Why Stablecoins are the Hottest Thing in Crypto https://www.thetayf.com/blogs/this-weeks-stories/why-stablecoins-are-the-hottest-thing-in-crypto
9/25 Webinar - Unlocking Alpha in Crypto-Equities and Beyond: https://dacfp.com/events/unlocking-alpha-in-crypto-equities-and-beyond
9/20 Webinar Replay - Q4 Crypto Outlook: What You Need to Know Now: https://dacfp.com/events/q4-crypto-outlook-what-you-need-to-know-now
9/11 Webinar Replay – Rates are Poised to Drop, Now What?: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/rates-poised-to-drop-now-what
Become Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets: https://dacfp.com/certification/
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