March 26, 2020

The Digital Dollar Project Names 22 New Advisory Group Members

Partnership between Accenture and the Digital Dollar Foundation aims to promote establishment of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency

WASHINGTON; March 26, 2020 – The Digital Dollar Project today announced its first advisory group members, who will help guide the framework for practical steps that could be taken to establish a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

A partnership between Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and the Digital Dollar Foundation, the Digital Dollar Project was created to encourage research and public discussion on the potential advantages of a CBDC — or a “digital dollar.” The Project will identify options for a CBDC solution to help enhance monetary policy effectiveness and financial stability; provide needed scalability, security and privacy in retail, wholesale and international payments; and integrate with existing financial infrastructures, including U.S. Federal Reserve-related projects.

The Digital Dollar Project’s 22 new advisory group members — a list of whom can be found at https://www.digitaldollarproject.org — include prominent businesspeople, economists, former regulators, technology luminaries and educators who represent a cross-section of distinguished experts in the fields of banking, capital markets, international standards, anti-money laundering, monetary policy, national security, and privacy and property rights.

The Digital Dollar Project’s new advisory group will help guide the framework for steps to establish a US Central Bank Digital Currency

The Digital Dollar Project will explore design options and approaches for a CBDC through a deliberative process, including stakeholder meetings, roundtable discussions and open forums. The Project is headed by J. Christopher (“Chris”) Giancarlo, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); Charles Giancarlo, an entrepreneur, investor and executive who is currently CEO of Pure Storage; and Daniel Gorfine, founder and CEO of Gattaca Horizons LLC, adjunct professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, and former chief innovation officer at CFTC.

“The insights and expertise of the new advisory group members will be invaluable as we work together to help make the dollar a more effective and smarter currency in an increasingly digital global economy,” said Chris Giancarlo. “Welcoming these first advisors and holding our first official meeting — held virtually — were critical objectives for the project. We look forward to having others join as significant contributors to our efforts.”

Accenture is the lead architect and technology innovation partner of the not-for-profit Digital Dollar Foundation, which was launched earlier this year.

“We believe that a Central Bank Digital Currency will be an important building block for a more inclusive, efficient and effective global financial system,” said David Treat, a senior managing director at Accenture who leads its Blockchain practice globally. “This impressive group of advisory members will help us chart a course for the modernization of our financial systems.”

The Project’s next step will be to develop a white paper proposing core elements and the value proposition of a digital dollar, which the group plans to release in the next two months.

About Digital Dollar Foundation
The Digital Dollar Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created to support the Digital Dollar Project’s efforts to advance exploration of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency in order to advance the needs of global financial systems and consumers. The Foundation is led by the Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo, Charles H. Giancarlo and Daniel Gorfine. J. Christopher Giancarlo is Senior Counsel to the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the former Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Charles Giancarlo is the CEO of Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG), and formerly served in senior executive roles at Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Silver Lake Partners, the private equity firm. Daniel Gorfine is founder and CEO of Gattaca Horizons LLC, and previously served as the CFTC’s first Chief Innovation Officer and Director of LabCFTC. FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes, is providing strategic communication support for the Foundation and Project. For more information on the Digital Dollar Project please visit: DigitalDollarProject.org or contact: info@DigitalDollarProject.org.

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 509,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

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Contact:

Alison Geib
Accenture
+1 703 947 4404
alison.geib@accenture.com

Denise Berard
Accenture
+1 617 488 3611
denise.berard@accenture.com