United States Republican Representative Warren Davidson has taken a strong stance against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), urging Congress to ban them and even criminalize their development. He accused the Federal Reserve of creating the “financial equivalent of the Death Star” with CBDCs, stating that it turns money into a tool for coercion and control.
Davidson’s comments were sparked by San Francisco’s Federal Reserve Bank advertising a position for a “senior crypto architect” to work on a CBDC project. He argued that money should be a stable store of value and should not be programmable by a central authority. Instead, he believes that sound money should facilitate permission-less peer-to-peer transactions.
While the Federal Reserve has been researching the technology for a potential digital dollar, no final decisions have been made on its issuance. The idea of a digital version of the U.S. dollar has generated controversy and is expected to be a key topic in the upcoming presidential election.
Davidson is not alone in his concerns about a potential Fed-controlled digital dollar. U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also expressed his opposition to a central bank digital currency and signed a bill restricting its use in the state. Additionally, Republican Tom Emmer has warned about the dangers of state-controlled digital money, stating that it could be easily weaponized as a spying tool.
In response to these concerns, Emmer introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, aiming to prevent unelected bureaucrats in Washington, DC, from compromising Americans’ financial privacy. His bill was also endorsed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who introduced his own CBDC blocking bill.
The debates around CBDCs reflect the growing interest and controversy surrounding the potential digitization of national currencies. Policymakers and lawmakers are grappling with the implications and potential risks of these digital currencies, and their decisions will shape the future of money and financial transactions.
