- The Bank of Canada has accelerated the work to launch a digital currency amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Bank of Canada deputy governor Tim Lane stated that the decision of creating a digital currency has to be made soon.
- Nonetheless, Lane also stated that the moment has not yet arrived although it should happen sooner than later.
Tim Lane, the deputy governor of the Bank of Canada started by saying that the recent spike in cryptocurrency prices is ‘speculative mania’. Lane doesn’t believe the current assets have the qualities to become the money of the future.
However, Lane also stated that the current pandemic has accelerated the plans to potentially create a digital currency stating:
For several years, the Bank of Canada has been analyzing which circumstances might lead Canada to decide to issue a digital currency. The pandemic may bring us to a decision point sooner than we had anticipated
Back in 2020, Lane believed that there was no need for a central bank digital currency and states that their view hasn’t necessarily changed, adding:
Only a central bank can guarantee complete safety and universal access, and with public interest — not profits — as the top priority. We will issue such a currency only if and when the time is right.
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