The Federal Reserve is "nowhere near" making a recommendation on or even adopting a central bank digital currency, Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Thursday.

If the central bank were to adopt a CBDC, it would be done through the banking system, said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who testified on Thursday in front of the Senate Banking Committee. 

"The last thing we would want — we, the Federal Reserve, would want — would be to have individual accounts for all Americans, or any Americans for that matter," Powell said. "Only banks have accounts at the Fed and that's the way we're going to keep it."

"People don't need to worry about a central bank digital currency. Nothing like that is remotely close to happening anytime soon," Powell added. 

Republicans have voiced …