ECASH Act Would Establish a Real Digital Dollar

In its most basic terms, the digital dollar debate is about a public option versus a private option. According to Rohan Grey, assistant professor at Willamette University College of Law, there is a middle ground that happens to be the best option. Grey, who advised the authors of the bill, joins Real Vision’s Ash Bennington and Santiago Velez, co-founder and division lead of R&D at Block Digital, to talk about the ECASH Act recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The “Electronic Currency And Secure Hardware Act” would make the U.S. Treasury, rather than the Federal Reserve, the issuer of what would be “a true digital analogue to the U.S. dollar.” According to Grey, it would function similarly to physical cash in that it would be "public money with privacy characteristics" and use "no ledger at all." Grey walks Bennington and Velez through the bill’s particulars, noting its emphasis on preserving privacy. Recorded on March 29, 2022.

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