US President Donald Trump issued an executive order effectively banning the establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), in a move long supported by Congressional Republicans, AFP reports.

Trump's order would, he said, protect Americans from the "risks" of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, "which threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States."

CBDCs, also known as "digital dollars," could in theory be issued by the Federal Reserve and be interchangeable with physical dollars, giving the US central bank control over the supply of the virtual currency.