In 2020, digital currencies have been one of many hottest matters on the town. China was effectively on its method to launching its personal central financial institution digital foreign money, or CBDC, and lots of different nations launched CBDC analysis initiatives. Even Fb has proposed a worldwide digital foreign money, known as Libra.
Few eyebrows have been raised when the Boston department of the US Federal Reserve introduced a venture to analysis how a CBDC could be technically designed. A hypothetical US central financial institution digital foreign money was hardly controversial, in any case. And the US couldn’t afford to be left behind.
How issues change. Three years later, the digital greenback—regardless that it doesn’t exist——has develop into political purple meat, as some politicians label it a dystopian software for surveillance. And late final yr, the Boston Fed quietly stopped engaged on its venture.
So is the dream of the digital greenback lifeless? Learn the complete story.
—Mike Orcutt
Introducing MIT Know-how Evaluate Roundtables
I’m excited to announce that MIT Know-how Evaluate is launching a brand new participatory subscriber-only on-line occasion collection known as Roundtables. They’re 30-minute month-to-month conversations with our writers and editors aimed toward conserving you knowledgeable about rising tech like synthetic intelligence, biotechnology, local weather change and extra.
The primary, on August 10, will characteristic David Rotman, MIT Know-how Evaluate editor at giant, in dialog with editor in chief Mat Honan, they usually’ll be discussing AI’s impression on the economic system. The second, on September 12, I (Charlotte, our information editor!) can be chatting with Melissa Heikkilä, our senior reporter for AI, a couple of subject she has baggage of perception into: How ought to we regulate AI?