United States Republican Representative Warren Davidson has spoken out against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), urging Congress to ban them and criminalize its development.
In a July 23 Twitter post, Congressman Davidson accused the Federal Reserve of “building the financial equivalent of the Death Star," stating that CBDCs corrupts money into a tool for coercion and control, adding:
Davidson’s comments came in response to a position advertised by San Francisco’s Federal Reserve Bank for a “senior crypto architect” to work on a CBDC project.
The Federal Reserve is building the financial equivalent of the Death Star.Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) corrupts money into a tool for coercion & control.Congress must swiftly ban then criminalize any effort to design, build, develop, test or establish a #CBDC. pic.twitter.com/9JWiyj5H2f
Responding to a comment from a Twitter user, Davidson argued that money should be a stable store of value, and should not be programmable by a central authority.
“Sound money should facilitate permission-less peer-to-peer transactions,” he added.
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 possibility 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.
Congressman Davidson is also not alone in his concern over a potential Fed-controlled digital dollar.
On July 14, U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would “nix any central bank digital currency” if he became president. In May, DeSantis signed a bill restricting the use of CBDCs in the state.
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