The Federal Reserve has announced it is taking a step closer to the potential adoption of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by ramping up its efforts to study the use of fast-evolving technologies for digital payments, with a particular focus on the opportunities and risks associated with this new type of digital dollar. “Technological advances are driving rapid change in the global payments landscape,” the Fed said in a statement, adding that it is actively exploring how it might refine its role as a core payment services provider and as the issuing authority for U.S. currency, while promoting monetary and financial stability, as well as the safety and efficiency of the payment system. “In pursuit of these core functions we have been carefully monitoring and adapting to the technological innovations now transforming the world of payments, finance, and banking,” said Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, in a video address Thursday (pdf). …