Bank of Canada Trademarks ‘Digital Canadian Dollar’

Bank of Canada Registers ‘Digital Canadian Dollar’ as Trademark

January 8, 2024 TruthUSA

The Bank of Canada has taken its first steps toward trademarking a “digital Canadian dollar,” records show. The move comes despite the central bank saying last year that its future actions on a digital dollar would be decided by voters.

The Bank of Canada (BoC), in a December filing under the Trademarks Act, has claimed ownership of any “digital dollar” launched within the country.

“Whether and when a digital dollar will become needed is uncertain,” the Bank said in a Nov. 29 statement. “Ultimately the decision to go ahead with a digital dollar belongs to Canadians through their representatives in Parliament.”

The claims were filed by BoC lawyers under section 9 of the act, which permits any “public authority” to claim exclusive ongoing rights to everyday phrases “as an official mark for goods or services.” All other applicants must serve public notice to challenge the claim.

The Bank has been studying digital currency for more than a decade and, in 2014, ordered the Royal Canadian Mint to disband a Bitcoin alternative called MintChip. It was sold to Toronto-based financial startup nanoPay in 2016.

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Grahame Johnson, who was chief of funds management at the time, told the Senate banking committee the BoC earned $1.6 billion a year from printing and circulating banknotes.

“We couldn’t issue another currency,” he said at a 2014 hearing. “In terms of digital currency, it is not under the current legal framework.”

The BoC, in a report last August, maintained that government-issued digital currency was not necessary.

“Acceptance and use of a central bank digital currency could be challenging because most Canadians have access to several methods of payment,” the report read. “Overcoming such barriers could require significant and sustained investment by the central bank.”

Canadians Reject Digital Dollar

A November BoC report based on public consultations with 89,423 Canadians said that a large majority (85 percent) would not use a central bank digital currency. Twelve percent said they would “potentially” use it, and 3 percent were unsure.

When asked if there were any circumstances in which using a digital Canadian dollar would be preferable to their current payment methods, 92 percent said no. It also found that 79 percent of respondents want regulations put in place to require merchants to accept cash payments.

Eighty-two percent of respondents also said the Bank should not research a digital Canadian dollar. The central bank describes a digital Canadian dollar as a digital form of cash that can be used to purchase items just like one would with paper money, but it would be an electronic transaction.

The BoC has promised a digital dollar would not replace paper money, but the report found that Canadians place a higher value on cash that is backed by the BoC and “want to maintain access to bank notes.”

Privacy was also a big concern for Canadians, the report said, noting that “many expressed concerns that a digital dollar could compromise that right,” the report said.

The report said Canadians also expressed concern about the accessibility and financial stability of digital currency.

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