Is the federal government finally warming up to the idea of cryptocurrencies? Probably, not but the idea of a digital dollar was introduced in the stimulus bill that Congress is working on to blunt the economic effects of the coronavirus.
According to the actual bill introduced, the digital cash option would represent “a balance expressed as a dollar value consisting of digital ledger entries that are recorded as liabilities in the accounts of any Federal [R]eserve bank; or an electronic unit of value, redeemable by an eligible financial institution (as determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).”
“Member banks with total consolidated assets in excess of $10,000,000,000 shall promptly offer individuals the ability to apply, through online or telephonic means, for a pass-through digital dollar wallets,” the text states.
Of course, the federal government wants to make it abundantly clear that this isn’t a foray into cryptocurrencies. Of course, if it was, cryptocurrency purveyors would be rejoicing.
Page 319 is not a cryptocurrency provision.
Legislative interpretation begins with the plain meaning and you must start at the definitions, they begin on page 314.
Moreover, that’s an old draft. There are a few ideas floating on how to provide stimulus to people.
— Devron Brown (@dvrnbrwn) March 23, 2020
It does shed light on the importance of financial technology (fintech), especially when payments are increasingly going digital with a number of start-ups seeing venture capital seed money to help facilitate online purchases. According to the research company Pitchbook, data shows that investors put $18.5 billion into the payment processing sector in 2018–an increase of five times the previous year.
ETFs to look at in the growing fintech space include the Global X FinTech ETF (NasdaqGM: FINX) and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSEArca: ARKF). ARKF invests in equity securities of companies that ARK believes are shifting financial services and economic transactions to technology infrastructure platforms, ultimately revolutionizing financial services by creating simplicity and accessibility while driving down costs.
FINX seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Indxx Global Fintech Thematic Index. The underlying index is designed to provide exposure to exchange-listed companies in developed markets that provide financial technology products and services, including companies involved in mobile payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) and marketplace lending, financial analytics software, and alternative currencies, as defined by the index provider.
For more market trends, visit ETF Trends.