A Digital U.S. Dollar? Don’t we already have one?

I’ve been spending some time looking at the fed-backed crypto markets lately.  As mentioned in a previous post, governments are on alert and some countries are thinking about digitizing their own currencies.  

The Federal Reserve published a new report discussing a digital version of cash that would be just as available as ‘physical cash.’  It wouldn't require the same deposit insurance that banks need, and it wouldn't need to be backed by a physical asset (Gold).

Does this make a difference to the average person or is this a repose to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies?

A Fed-backed digital dollar would provide many of the benefits of cryptocurrencies without their wild price swings. In theory, this would would meld the best aspects of physical and digital currencies. 

I don’t think this would feel all that different from a regular dollar. We already use digital cash when they shop with credit or debit cards but in this case the digital dollar would be backed by the central bank rather than private companies. 

The Fed plans to engage with the public, Congress, and other stakeholders on the topic in the coming months.