Bank of Canada Exploring Possibility of Launching a Digital Currency

Bank of Canada, the Canadian central bank, is exploring the possibility of launching a digital currency that would replace cash and track how people spend their money.

The aim of the proposed currency would be to mitigate the “direct threat” posed by cryptocurrencies to the economic sovereignty of governments and central banks, an issue that has featured prominently in the headlines recently amidst intense regulatory pushback on Facebook’s proposed coin, Libra. The proposal was pitched to Stephen Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada, and its board of directors in a presentation entitled “Central Bank Money: …