UPDATE 1-Powell says Fed not “remotely close” to a central bank digital currency

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell significantly downplayed the possibility of the central bank issuing its own digital currency, and said if it ever came to pass, the government would play a limited role. Testifying before Congress Thursday, Powell said policymakers were "nowhere near" taking action on adopting such a tool. “People don’t need to worry about a central bank digital currency, nothing like that is remotely close to happening anytime soon," he told the Senate Banking Committee.