Former CFTC Chair Says U.S. Exploring CBDC Behind Closed Doors, Launch Only a Matter of Time

A central bank digital currency, or CBDC, is digital fiat money issued directly by a central bank, unlike a privately issued stablecoin. Timothy Massad, who led the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2014 to 2017, believes the digitization of payments and CBDC experiments by central banks worldwide will make it difficult for the United States to remain on the sidelines indefinitely.

Massad recently said that although the U.S. government is not publicly pursuing a CBDC, the possibility is still being explored behind closed doors. Trump signed an executive order on January 23, 2025, barring federal agencies from establishing, issuing or promoting a CBDC. Massad said political resistance would not end the research and that a launch was only a matter of time. No budget, issuance amount or formal timetable has been announced.