Bank of Canada’s Timothy Lane discusses how a CBDC could launch sooner rather than later

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• Deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, Timothy Lane has recently claimed that the central-bank digital currency from Canada could be released sooner rather than later.

• Speaking in an interview earlier this month on the 1st of December, Timothy discussed how the bank is approaching digital payment systems and CBDCs.

Deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, Timothy Lane has recently claimed that the central-bank digital currency from Canada could be released sooner rather than later.

Speaking in an interview earlier this month on the 1st of December, Timothy discussed how the bank is approaching digital payment systems and CBDCs.

Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted numerous issues within the financial system which has led many people to turn to alternatives such as digital assets like bitcoin. According to Lane, the decline in cash transactions due to COVID-19 has accelerated massively more than any bank in the world could’ve expected. As a result of this, it could cause banks like the central bank of Canada to issue a central-bank digital currency sooner than they thought.

He further said:

“In February, we identified two scenarios that we would want to be prepared for. One of them was the disappearance of the acceptance of cash, and the second was the emergence of digital currencies... I would say that in the last nine months we’ve seen developments that look like they’re in the direction of some of those things coming to pass sooner than expected.”

The latest remarks by the deputy governor suggest that the Bank of Canada is shifting its stance toward a CBDC.

Back in October, the Canadian bank published a report that highlighted a number of risks that are associated with CBDC projects. To that end, they noted how the bank needs to be careful and consider how such an asset would be used and aggregated.

In fact, before the pandemic hit, Timothy said that there was no real reason for the Canadian bank to launch a digital currency backed by the central bank. He said that it would continue to be “well served by the existent existing payment ecosystem.“

Back in February, many people's mindsets would be different to what they believe now, whether that be on cryptocurrency, politics or socio-economic factors.

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