In a recent development that has sent ripples through the financial world, US Congressman Warren Davidson has made a bold call for the ban and criminalization of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Davidson, a Republican Representative, has been a vocal critic of CBDCs, expressing concerns over the potential for coercion and control that these digital currencies could enable.
Davidson’s call to action came in response to a job posting by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco seeking a “senior crypto architect” to work on a CBDC project. The Congressman took to Twitter to express his concerns, stating that the Federal Reserve is “building the financial equivalent of the Death Star.” He further argued that CBDCs corrupt money into a tool for coercion and control and urged Congress to swiftly ban and criminalize any effort to design, build, develop, test, or establish a CBDC.
The debate over CBDCs intensifies
Davidson’s stance on CBDCs is not an isolated one. The concept of a digital version of the U.S. dollar has stirred controversy in the country and is expected to be a key talking point in the upcoming presidential election. Other political figures, such as U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have also expressed concerns over a potential Fed-controlled digital dollar. DeSantis has stated that he would “nix any central bank digital currency” if he became president.
The Congressman’s call for a ban on CBDCs is rooted in his belief that money should be a stable store of value and not be programmable by a central authority. He argues that sound money should facilitate permission-less peer-to-peer transactions, which aligns with many cryptocurrencies’ principles.
Despite the controversy, the Federal Reserve has been actively researching the technology for a potential digital dollar but has not made any decisions on whether to issue one. The debate over CBDCs is likely to continue as more countries explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of implementing their own digital currencies.
As the discourse around CBDCs continues to linger, it is clear that the financial landscape is on the brink of significant change. Whether this change will be for better or worse remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the conversation around CBDCs is far from over.