미국 CBDC 관련 동향과 법적 쟁점

CBDC is a digital currency in which the central bank directly bears responsibility. In early 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve published a policy report for CBDC discussion and a research report to understand technical problems and opportunities. In addition, President Biden issued an executive order to ensure the responsible development of digital assets for each ministry, dealing with CBDC as an important issue. It is evaluated that the U.S. government's passive position has changed. As private stable coins such as Facebook Libra became an issue, there were concerns about the financial system and monetary policy, and as China and others actively pushed for the introduction of CBDC, it was recognized as a serious issue affecting the international key currency and the dollar's status as a payment method. However, in addition to the basic directions such as privacy protection, operation structure by brokerage method, general-purpose, and identification verification, it seems that no conclusion has been made on the specific operation structure. There is a dispute in interpretation, but legislation seems to have to be preceded in order for the Federal Reserve to issue the CBDC. In order to be recognized as a legal tender with compulsory acceptance power, legislation is expected to be necessary, but the timing needs to be set in consideration of the degree of acceptance of the general public. CBDC should be designed to protect personal information, but the U.S. government's position is that identity verification should be possible to secure transparency to prevent criminal acts. Even in the case of token-type CBDCs that can be used by digital wallets, account connections such as financial institutions are required to verify identity. On the other hand, concerns are also raised that the spread of CBDC may shake the current two-tier financial system and pose a risk of a reduction in credit available to consumers and businesses. In particular, if interest is paid, there is a possibility of replacing cash or bank deposits, and the monetary policy is expected to be more complicated than it is now. Despite the change in position, the introduction of CBDC in the U.S. is expected to take more time due to the need to review structural problems such as the central bank's role, data concentration, and destructive effects on the existing financial system.