Title: The Coming US Digital Dollar (Part 1) — What it is, and Why it Matters | by Garrick Hileman | @blockchain | Medium
Headings: The Coming US Digital Dollar (Part 1) — What it is, and Why it Matters
The Coming US Digital Dollar (Part 1) — What it is, and Why it Matters
A new US digital dollar, seemingly imminent, will transform the financial world and digital currency landscape
How the US digital dollar suddenly reversed course from uncertain, distant dream to high priority
What is a US digital dollar, and why is there so much confusion around central bank digital currency?
Understanding digital currencies like the US digital dollar is basically impossible without first understanding where money comes from
The hidden but significant differences between commercial bank money and central bank money
The many benefits of a US digital dollar can no longer be sidestepped
Footnotes:

Content: A US digital dollar could also have significant ramifications for the cryptoasset industry, particularly cryptocurrencies such as stablecoins and bitcoin that are vying for wider monetary use. This three-part blog series will: Part 1: Describe the history of the US digital dollar and define central bank digital currency, as well as the essential need to understand how money is created and how a US digital dollar resembles and differs from cryptocurrency and commercial bank money
Part 2: Analyse key differences and tradeoffs of leading US digital dollar design proposals currently being debated and considered
Part 3: Discuss the role of infrastructure surrounding and supporting a US digital dollar, particularly digital wallets and their various design tradeoffs
How the US digital dollar suddenly reversed course from uncertain, distant dream to high priority
Bill Gates famously said we often overestimate the amount of change that occurs in the short-run.¹ But every once in a while seismic shifts can be seen in a single year. Just over twelve months ago few thought the creation of a new US digital dollar — a broadly held and transacted central bank digital currency (CBDC) — would soon be on the policy and legislative “front burner” in Congress, the Federal Reserve, and other regulatory bodies. And there were good reasons for this skepticism. In January 2019 the Bank of International Settlements, following a survey of its central bank members, reported there was no rush by most leading central banks to broaden central bank digital currency due to uncertain benefits and risks. Many central banks previously explored technical aspects of implementing broad CBDC by testing blockchain or distributed ledger technology and were left concerned about the maturity and capabilities of the technology for use at scale.