Canada’s central bank moves toward CBDC. The Bank of Canada is looking to recruit an economist who has in depth knowledge of financial technology and digital currencies. This could potential suggest the latest in a series of steps towards a Canadian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
According to the official page of the bank, the economist will hold the responsibility of tracking and evaluating the latest trends in electronic funds and payments, undertaking research projects, preparing analytical notes, and work on the “potential development of a CBDC.”
The Bank has defined a set of requirements that the applicant must meet, among which are an in-depth knowledge of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrency platforms, and familiarity with traditional payments systems like card networks, merchant acquirers, and point of sale technologies. The applicant must also be experienced in handling and analyzing public blockchain data and analyzing consumer survey data.
In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Canada, Timothy Lane, recently called on central banks worldwide to launch their own digital currencies, emphasising their importance to the economy. At the Central Bank Payments Conference Lane also said that Canada’s CBDC development was progressing at “a good pace.”
In laying the foundation for a CBDC, the Bank joins the Bank of England, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan who have also begun conducting research into the viability of CBDCs.
[image: Guillaume Jaillet]
