Lael Brainard, vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board, told the House Financial Services Committee that she believes a central bank digital currency, stablecoins and commercial bank money could exist together in the future financial system.

Brainard said in her written testimony published Thursday that establishing a CBDC to complement cryptocurrencies would offer “a safe central bank liability in the digital financial ecosystem, much like cash currently coexists with commercial bank money.”

Conservative investors may find a CBDC attractive in stressful times and the potential wide availability of a digital banknote can possibly lower aggregate banking deposits, the Fed official added.

She proposed offering zero interest-bearing accounts or imposing consumer limitations if the Fed decides to move forward with CBDC development as part of risk mitigation measures.

The Department of Energy has announced $38 million in funding to support decarbonization projects at four national laboratories as part of the Net Zero Labs Pilot Initiative that seeks to support the White House’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The funding recipients are Idaho National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, DOE said Wednesday.

“Transitioning to a net-zero future will require slashing carbon pollution across all industries — from shipping to manufacturing to construction, and even the operation of our national laboratories,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. 

“DOE’s National Labs are leading by example to address some of the most energy-intensive, hardest-to-decarbonize federal facilities to reduce our nation’s carbon footprint — mitigating the disastrous impacts of climate change, lowering energy costs, and supporting the growing clean energy workforce,” added Granholm.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, for instance, is developing software, algorithms and other methods to enable optimized operation of energy assets and advance clean energy adoption.

DOE said it expects the platforms that will come out of the NZL Pilot program to be replicated at other facilities of the department, federal agencies and local and state governments.

Cryptocurrency exchanges totaling more than 500 are now obliged to be submitted as investors’ income to the Internal Revenue Service for the 2023 tax season as the result of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, according to Nathan Jones, senior vice president and general manager of the public sector division of TaxBit.

“To help ease the transition, the IRS has contracted with TaxBit, the crypto tax leader, as they try to make sense of America’s crypto tax collection. TaxBit is concentrating on catering to crypto enterprises first of all,” Jones commented.

TaxBit is a company that intends to ameliorate questions and doubts surrounding taxes and accounting about the growing digital economy through its software services.

Its platforms are aimed to help corporate institutions, government agencies and individuals navigate new laws that have begun to regulate and systematize the up-and-coming forms of currency.

The Draper, Utah-based organization’s offerings include a core accounting suite, customer management suite and form issuance. Their team has also developed a real-time ERP accounting platform for commodities, equities and other digital asset investments.

“The TaxBit Network enables users to easily integrate their cryptocurrency exchange, DeFi, and NFT data from over 500+ sources, see their tax calculations line-by-line, and download completed IRS Forms 8949 and Income reports,” Jones elaborated.

Jones came to TaxBit in February after nearly two decades with Red Hat. His appointment was part of the former company’s efforts to enlarge its presence with federal government clients.

In April, Jones shared his perspective on President Biden’s executive order on digital currencies.

“Although many policymakers historically have been hesitant to adopt digital assets, the EO is a signal that the Biden administration wants the U.S. to embrace digital assets as a source of financial innovation,” Jones told ExecutiveGov.