The Federal Reserve opens the door to cryptocurrency companies with the proposal to create "thin" master accounts
The Federal Reserve of the United States has announced plans to explore new "payment accounts" that would allow cryptocurrency and financial technology companies to connect directly to the Federal Reserve's payment system.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller described this development during his speech at today's Payments Innovation Conference. He stated that this marks a "new era," demonstrating that the Federal Reserve is moving past caution to collaborate with innovators in cryptocurrencies and DeFi.
The Federal Reserve governor claims that DeFi and cryptocurrencies are "welcome to the conversation"
Specifically, Governor Waller stated that the DeFi sector no longer faces suspicion or disdain. Instead, the financial industry has welcomed it in discussions about the future of payments in the United States.
"Today, you are invited to the conversation about the future of payments in the United States," he said.
Waller also noted that technologies such as distributed ledgers, stablecoins, and tokenized assets now constitute important parts of the financial system.
Among the companies working in these areas are banks, asset managers, payment companies, technology firms, and fintechs specializing in cryptocurrencies.
The "Payment Account" proposal
In particular, the proposed concept of a "payment account" would be a simpler version of the usual Federal Reserve master account for companies focusing on payment innovation.
These "thin" accounts would allow certain cryptocurrency and financial technology companies to connect directly to the Federal Reserve's payment system without the need for an intermediary bank.$BTC $ETH
