Fed's Brainard sees case for U.S. central bank digital currency

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard speaks after she was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden to serve as vice chair of the Fed, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard on Friday laid out a case for the role a U.S. central bank digital currency could play in bolstering financial stability as the use of stablecoins and cryptocurrency grows and other countries issue their own CBDCs.

"It is essential that policymakers, including the Federal Reserve, plan for the future of the payment system and consider the full range of possible options to bring forward the potential benefits of new technologies, while safeguarding stability," Brainard said in remarks prepared for delivery to the U.S Monetary Policy Forum in New York. "A U.S. CBDC may be one potential way to ensure that people around the world who use the dollar can continue to rely on the strength and safety of U.S. currency to transact and conduct business in the digital financial system."