ChainCatcher news, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller expressed skepticism about whether the U.S. payment system needs a central bank digital currency (CBDC) during the 2024 Clearinghouse Annual Meeting held on November 12. He questioned whether there are problems within the system that a CBDC could solve.He stated, "In a speech I gave in August 2021, I asked, what problem does a CBDC solve? In other words, what market failures or inefficiencies require this specific intervention? Over three years later, I still have not heard a satisfactory answer regarding CBDCs."Waller advocated for market-driven solutions, emphasizing the benefits of private sector innovation in the payment system through competition.He noted that the private sector, driven by profit and competition, often makes better decisions about which technologies are worth investing in and which may not meet consumer needs.Waller further stated that the government's role should remain supportive rather than directly competing with private payment innovations until there is a clear demand that the private sector cannot meet.

ChainCatcher message, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell: According to the law, the president is not allowed to fire or demote a Federal Reserve Board member.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated at the 19th Vienna Macroeconomic Workshop held in Vienna, Austria, that technological advancements can "drive improvements in financial efficiency." DeFi will not replace centralized finance, partly because intermediaries are still needed. "While some services emerging through DeFi are not provided by centralized finance, the technological innovations brought by DeFi largely complement centralized finance." "They have the potential to improve centralized finance, thereby enhancing the significant value provided by financial intermediaries and centralized financial markets."Christopher Waller is one of the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board, nominated to the position by former President Donald Trump in 2020.Previously, Christopher Waller compared cryptocurrencies to baseball cards, showing a preference for innovations in stablecoins rather than central bank digital currencies. Christopher Waller also believes that privately issued stablecoins will strengthen the dollar rather than weaken it.

ChainCatcher news, Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller recently stated that despite the rise of China and the growth of cryptocurrencies posing a threat to the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, this status may still persist. Waller pointed out that the widespread use of stablecoins pegged to the dollar in digital currency transactions indicates that cryptocurrency assets are, in fact, traded in dollars. He noted that so far, the impact of the cryptocurrency industry on the dollar seems to be actually beneficial.