Following the instructions of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) presented a report analyzing design options for 18 central bank digital currency (CBDC) systems for possible implementation in the United States.
The technical analysis of 18 CBDC design options was conducted across six broad categories: participants, governance, security, transactions, data and settings. OSTP anticipates technical complexities and practical limitations in attempting to create a permissionless system governed by a central bank, including:
“It is possible that the technology underpinning a permitless approach will improve significantly over time, which could make it more suitable for use in a CBDC system.”
However, the analysis assumes that a central authority and authorized CBDC system exists.
To help policymakers decide on the ideal CBDC system in the US, the OSTP report highlights the implications of involving third parties in two “participatory” category of design choices: the transport layer and interoperability. On governance, the report weighed various factors related to permissions, access priority, identity privacy and treatment.
Other important factors that OSTP policymakers want to consider are cryptography and secure hardware, signatures, transaction confidentiality, offline transactions and transaction programmability, data models, and history. Balance amount (for transactions).
The technical evaluation of US CBDC systems highlights the reported trend towards off-ledger, hardware-protected systems. When a US CBDC is launched, the report will highlight the various trade-offs that policy makers had when deciding to finalize design choices.
on September 8, Weighing the environmental and energy impact of crypto assets in the United States, the OSTP recommends monitoring and regulation.
The OSTP report highlights that crypto assets use approximately 50 billion kilowatt-hours of energy per year in the United States, which is 38% of the global total, adding:
“Given that direct comparison is complicated, Visa, MasterCard and American Express combined […] Despite processing manifold the number of on-chain transactions and supporting their broader corporate operations, they consumed less than 1% of the electricity used in the same year.”
The report also pointed out the high energy consumption of Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocols in crypto assets.
the explanation: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information provided here should not be construed as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial activities involve risk and it is the responsibility of each individual to do their due research before making an investment decision.
read on:
Investing in crypto assets is not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The offering of services or products is not targeted or accessible to investors in Spain.
