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Tim Lane, deputy governor of Canada’s central bank, said Wednesday that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may ultimately accelerate the institution’s decision-making process on whether to issue a digital currency.

The Bank of Canada has spent years experimenting with a digitized version of the Canadian dollar, making it one of a growing number of central banks that conduct research and development in this area. According to Lane, who spoke during an event on Wednesday: “The pandemic may bring us to a decision point sooner than we had anticipated.” His comments were reported by Reuters.

Still, Lane’s commentary indicated that a decision to go ahead with a digital Canadian dollar is not a foregone conclusion.

“A digital currency is by no means a foregone conclusion,” Lane remarked.

Elsewhere during the event, Lane sharply criticized bitcoin, remarking that “[c]ryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin do not have a plausible claim to become the money of the future.”

“The recent spike in their prices looks less like a trend and more like a speculative mania.”

He similarly expressed a critical viewpoint toward stablecoins, or digital assets that are tied in some fashion to government-issued currencies like the U.S. dollar.

“If that business model were used as a foundation for the dominant method of payment in the economy, the issuer would gain control over an enormous range of data – bringing with it overwhelming market power,” Lane said, according to Reuters. “In effect, a technology company could become the gatekeeper of the entire economy.”

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