VOA慢速英语2021 美国计划推出央行数字货币（在线收听）

A top Federal Reserve official said the United States is moving forward with a plan to develop a "central bank digital currency," or CBDC.

美联储一位高级官员表示，美国正在推进一项开发央行数字货币的计划。

The U.S. would not be the first country to consider launching such a currency. China is also considering one. However, the U.S. dollar is very important in the world economy.

美国不是第一个考虑推出这种货币的国家。中国也在考虑。然而，美元在世界经济中非常重要。

Supporters of a CBDC say it makes electronic payments faster and simpler. They say there is no need for a bank to take part in the exchange. And people without a bank account could receive secure electronic payments.

央行数字货币的支持者表示，这将使电子支付变得更加快捷和简单。他们表示，它无需银行参与到交易过程。没有银行账户的人士也可以接受安全电子支付。

But critics have concerns about privacy. They say such a system could give the federal government control over people's financial transactions. There are also economic concerns that the digital dollar could displace the currencies of smaller countries.

但是批评者担心隐私问题。他们表示，这种系统可以让联邦政府控制人们的金融交易。此外还有经济方面的担忧，即数字美元可能会取代小国家的货币。

David Treat is with the Irish company Accenture which gives business advice. He has worked with most central banks in G-20 countries: 20 large, industrialized nations. He thinks about five of them will have some kind of digital currency by 2024. China's digital yuan is already in limited use.

戴维·崔特就职于提供商业咨询的爱尔兰埃森哲公司。他曾与20国集团成员国的大多数央行合作，20国集团由20个大型工业化国家组成。他认为，其中有5个国家在2024年前将会拥有某种数字货币。中国的数字人民币已经投入有限使用。

Experts believe that CBDCs are likely to be used in the future. Here are some strengths and weaknesses of digital currencies:

专家认为各种央行数字货币可能会在未来得到应用。以下是数字货币的一些优点和缺点：

Possible strengths

潜在优势

A digital U.S. dollar would be worth exactly one dollar. Other digital currencies, like Bitcoin, can gain or lose value quickly compared to national currencies. But the digital "token" held by the owner would be guaranteed by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Bitcoin, for example, is backed by no government.

一数字美元完全等值于一美元。与国家货币相比，诸如比特币之类的其它数字货币会快速升值或贬值。但是所有者持有的这种数字代币将由美联储提供担保。比特币没有政府背书。

Treat said, "There is no question as to its value. Whether it's the dollar in your wallet, the dollar in your savings account, or the central bank digital currency version of $1 in your digital wallet, all of them always equals $1."

崔特表示：“它的价值是毫无疑问的。无论是你钱包里的美元，储蓄账户里的美元，还是你数字钱包里的央行数字货币版的1美元，它们的价值都是1美元。”

Digital currencies involve fewer steps in a transaction. Digital transactions on services like Venmo seem simple. But there is a complex digital network behind them. Banks and other financial services exchange information to make sure the transaction is safe. If one step goes wrong, the payment can be delayed.

数字货币在交易中涉及的步骤更少。Venmo等支付服务上的数字交易似乎很简单。但它们背后有一个复杂的数字网络。银行和其它金融服务商交换信息以确保交易安全。如果某个步骤出错，付款可能会延迟。

Experts say a digital currency would work like cash. All the information needed to verify the transaction exists in the digital wallet. Two people could even make a transaction without an internet connection, although a wireless connection is still required.

专家表示，数字货币像现金一样运作。验证交易所需的所有信息都存放在数字钱包中。双方甚至可以在没有互联网接入的情况下进行交易，即使仍然需要用到无线连接。

A digital dollar could also be used around the world and across borders.

数字美元也可以在世界各地和跨境使用。

Daniel Gorfine is a director of the Digital Dollar Project, a non-profit organization that supports a digital dollar. He said a digital dollar would reduce costs for cross-border exchanges.

丹尼尔·戈法恩是数字美元项目的主管，这是一家支持数字美元的非营利组织。他表示，数字美元将会降低跨境交易成本。

Smartphones are widely used in some of the world's poorest countries. CBDCs could bring many people around the world into the digital economy.

智能手机在世界上一些贫困国家得到了广泛应用。央行数字货币可以带领世界各地许多人进入数字经济。

Gorfine said the experiences of "countries like Kenya show that digital access can have a strongly inclusive effect on underserved populations."

戈法恩表示，像肯尼亚等国家的经验表明，数字接入可以对难以获得服务的群体产生强烈的包容性影响。

Possible weaknesses

潜在弱点

However, digital currencies are a cause for concern for supporters of personal privacy. Under a digital dollar system, the Federal Reserve would have control over many transactions by citizens. 

然而，数字货币引起了个人隐私支持者的关注。在数字美元系统下，美联储将控制公民的许多交易。

A digital dollar could also weaken local currencies. It might be good for individual people to be able to buy and sell goods in U.S. dollars. But it would be bad for countries trying to supervise their own national currencies.

数字美元也可能削弱当地货币。对于个人而言，能够用美元买卖商品可能是件好事。但是对于试图监管本国货币的国家来说，这将是不利的。

A strong digital dollar would reduce the value of a local currency. It would also harm other central banks' ability to control their money supplies.

强势的数字美元可能会降低当地货币的价值。它也会损害其它央行控制其货币的能力。

Gorfine said it is a problem that must be dealt with. He said it could be a good idea to limit the amount of digital dollars a person can hold at one time.

戈法恩称这是一个必须解决的问题。他说，限制个人一次能够持有的数字美元数量是个好办法。

He added that, as digital currencies get more popular, it is important that they be supported by "strong democracies."

他还表示，随着数字货币越来越受欢迎，得到强大民主国家的支持就很重要。

In the long term, it is a good thing for any digital currency to be "underpinned by...rule of law," Gorfine said.

戈法恩表示，从长远来看，数字货币以法制为基础是一件好事。