Former CFTC chair says US continues to review CBDC privately

Timothy Massad, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has stated that while the U.S. government publicly opposes a central bank digital currency (CBDC), it continues to hold related discussions internally. In an interview with CoinDesk at the 2026 Digital Money Summit in London, Massad said that a CBDC is ultimately inevitable and that the U.S. is reviewing it privately. He added that even if the Fed Chair does not publicly mention a CBDC, discussions are ongoing toward building a government-supported on-chain payment infrastructure. President Donald Trump previously expressed his opposition to a CBDC during his presidential campaign. In March, a bill containing a provision to prohibit the Fed from issuing a digital dollar passed the Senate with an 89-10 vote. However, this provision is part of a separate housing bill and is currently awaiting a vote in the House.