US Bill To Establish Testing Of Digital Dollar
Under the bill for the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act, US lawmaker Rep. Stephen Lynch wants there to be a test of an electronic dollar across the country. While it is highly unlikely that the bill will pass, Government interest in crypto and alternatives to it is evidently increasing.
If the bill were to pass, then the Electronic Currency Innovation Program (ECIP) would have to be developed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The program would involve several other programs to help establish the new e-cash. The trials would start 90 days after the bill is passed while the currency would be officially available for use within four years.
E-cash is designed specifically to mimic the behaviour of regular cash rather than to behave like a cryptocurrency. The new currency is to have “minimal transactional data-generating properties” and be available for peer-to-peer transfer without validation via a “common or distributed ledger:”
Lynch’s ECASH bill seeks to build on the current demographic that uses and appreciates cash for its simplicity, lack of processing fees and privacy. There is already interest in the United States in a digital currency and The Federal Reserve believe that it would be majorly helpful to those who feel left behind by traditional banking.