Central Banks Should Leave Crypto to Facebook and JPMorgan: PwC Partner

Central banks should leave issuance of digital currencies to corporations such as Facebook and JPMorgan, according to a blockchain and financial partner at PwC France, Forbes reports March 22.

According to PwC France’s Pauline Adam Kalfon, central banks should stay away from the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) until large corporations test out the tokenization of fiat currencies themselves.

Only when cryptocurrencies are "battle-tested by corporations,” should central banks make a move towards the crypto space, Kalfon argued, adding that it will reduce the likelihood of potentially negative consequences on the economy arising from any central bank issuing a digital currency.

Kalfon elaborated that France’s central bank, Banque de France, may not be the best entity to launch a digital currency project, explaining that the bank will be operating under the European Central Bank (ECB). She said:

“It is clear that a European-level project would be very complex and challenging governance-wise, requiring alignment and the political consensus of all relevant stakeholders from each Member State.”

In mid-February, JPMorgan announced plans to launch its own crypto, JPM Coin, to increase settlement efficiency. Following the news, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stated that the company’s new cryptocurrency could have a consumer use one day.

Facebook was first rumored to develop its own crypto in December 2018, while The New York Times (NYT) released an article in late February alleging that the social media giant is developing a stablecoin that would incorporate Facebook’s three fully-owned apps — WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram.

In January, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) reported that 70 percent of global central banks are exploring the benefits of CBDCs.