
US Treasury recommends issuing digital dollars

The United States Treasury has recommended that the federal government begin a move toward issuing a digital dollar that would allow the United States to take important steps toward adapting to a growing cryptocurrency industry and cement the dollar's dominance in its competition with China.
The United States is considering issuing a digital dollar
This report coincides with the Treasury Department finalizing its report on crypto assets, which will explain actions the United States should consider to adapt to the economy, including the possibility of a central bank digital currency.
If the federal government issues a central bank digital currency, it will have to be approved by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, which has been studying the technology's potential since January.
The Department of Justice will also determine whether this coin needs a new law when it releases its cryptocurrency report.
With President Joe Biden issuing an executive order in March requesting crypto-recommendations from multiple federal government agencies, the Treasury is expected to release a "Futures of Money" report in the coming weeks.
While the report will not endorse the digital dollar, it will provide ideas on how to design a digital dollar, according to the people involved in the project.
He also urged the White House to restrict cryptocurrency mining, where high-powered computers are used to verify virtual currency transactions.
For example, Bitcoin runs on the “blockchain” of the blockchain, which is essentially a “distributed ledger” that contains a record of every transaction.
Miners' computers also solve complex math problems in order to add new blocks to the chain, which in turn are rewarded with digital tokens, making the business profitable.
A report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy recommended that lawmakers consider implementing legal restrictions on cryptocurrency mining because of the high energy consumption and associated pollution.
While this will greatly impact Bitcoin mining, other coins such as Ethereum have switched from a power-intensive Proof of Work mechanism to a low-power Proof of Stake mechanism.
For its part, Congress is seeking to increase regulations for the cryptocurrency industry, including efforts by the House Committee on Financial Services to regulate stable coins, or currencies that are valued based on certain underlying assets, such as the dollar.
However, the commission postponed the work until after the August recess and has not yet revealed any additional details about the legislation.