Standard Chartered Bank: Widespread Digital Currencies Inevitable

“The widespread adaption and launch of digital currencies is ‘absolutely inevitable’, with the rapid development of international payment systems.” Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters said Monday.

Winters, speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival, said there would likely be room for both state-backed digital currencies as well as privately-owned ones. He thinks both central bank digital currencies and non-central bank sponsored digital currencies will play their part.

He also said Standard Chartered is going to announce something along the same lines soon.

Winters thinks the biggest opportunities could lie in the adoption of more niche versions not representing existing currencies,

Winters said digital currencies could be created for specific projects, such as trading in the voluntary carbon market, working to provide financial assurance for those who want to offset carbon emissions. “The confidence that the financing behind their projects is verified, standardized and monitored.” Winters said.

These applications of digital currencies, and the creation of digital currency ecosystems, are things that cannot be replicated by existing currency, or will not be replicated by central bank digital currencies anytime soon," he said. "I think that this will open up a whole new world for us."