Bank Of Canada Suspends Plans To Bring CBDC To The Public

The following report is by CBC:

After several years of exploring the possibility of introducing a digital currency in Canada, the central bank is shelving the idea.

The Bank of Canada confirmed to CBC News it has shifted its focus away from the idea of introducing a digital Canadian dollar, which could be used for online purchases and money transfers.

The central bank had launched the research project in 2017 in response to rapid digitalization and changes in how Canadians make purchases, followed by a public consultation process in 2022.

This summer, the Bank of Canada released a staff discussion paper that argued the country would need its own digital currency to maintain monetary sovereignty and financial stability, among other reasons, as people continue to use less cash.

Now, the central bank is less eager to develop a digital Loonie.

The Bank has undertaken significant research towards understanding the implications of a retail central bank digital currency, including exploring the implications of a digital dollar on the economy and financial system, and the technological approaches to providing a digital form of public money that is secure and accessible.

The bank said in an email statement.

Instead, the central bank said its focus will be on preparing for the ongoing evolution of payments both in Canada and around the world, through policy research and analysis.

More than 130 countries are exploring the idea of a central bank digital currency, according to a database from the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank. So far, only three nations have fully launched one — the Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria.

“One of the things that this cryptocurrency revolution has brought to the forefront is that we need to do more innovation,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist with Corpay, which helps Canadian companies deal with currency risk.

“But at the same time, we also need to preserve safety and many of the features of the monetary system that have been created over centuries and tested out over time,” he said.

A digital Loonie doesn’t offer many advantages right now, said Schamotta, so he’s not surprised the central bank has cooled its enthusiasm.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

In July, The WinePress reviewed the aforementioned document from the Bank of Canada titled “The Role of Public Money in the Digital Age,” where the authors hyped up the benefits and necessity of CBDC, should the usage of cash continue to dwindle to very small amounts. They outright say CBDC is the answer moving forward:

Our answer is that, once the extent of digitalization crosses a certain threshold, retail public money in digital form, henceforth a CBDC, would be essential for maintaining a well-functioning monetary system, particularly if the use of cash for transactional purposes declines to the point that it can no longer be considered a widely available payment method. An economically relevant CBDC should be part of the overall policy response.

The authors wrote; adding that they “suggest that a CBDC and regulatory responses should work in tandem to safeguard the monetary and regulatory sovereignty of Canada.”

The BoC went on to say that “more extreme examples of dysfunctional monetary systems are dollarized economies, where the state loses the capacity to define and enforce the use of a domestic unit of account.”

Definitely give that article a quick read-through: SEE: Bank Of Canada Argues ‘A CBDC Would Fulfill The Role Of Cash As The Economy And Money Become Increasingly Digital’

So, for the BoC to now say they are shelving the project – I don’t buy it; I personally think they already have one ready to go or at least near launch, and they are holding on to it for the right time and will present it with a new name, because right now the few that are aware of what’s happening are not into this idea at all know what it entails, so central banks have to tread carefully so as to not awaken too many of the masses.

1 Samuel 23:22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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