The blockchain-related topic of U.S. Representative Tom Emmer rallying the support of 49 other Republican representatives to reintroduce the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act has turned heads in the crypto sphere. Emmer, intent on preventing any overstep that might violate Americans’ financial privacy, initially launched the legislation in January 2022. The primary goal? Bar the central bank from using a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a tool for executing monetary policies that could potentially compromise personal financial privacy.
Advocates of this bill include esteemed colleagues like Representatives French Hill, Warren Davidson, Byron Donalds, Pete Sessions, Young Kim, to name a few. The concerns they share pivot around the potential perils CBDCs could ring in if allowed to proliferate unchecked. For Emmer and company, any government sanctioned digital currency must strictly adhere to principles of financial privacy, free-market competitiveness and individual sovereignty.
But go a step further and Emmer raises the specter of an authoritarian surveillance tool if a CBDC is not crafted to mirror cash. Echoing this sentiment, U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised eyebrows when he indicated that CBDCs could inadvertently hand the government unprecedented power to oversee individuals’ fund accessibility. Kennedy painted an unnerving picture of financial freedom decimated with a single keystroke, if CBDCs were deployed indiscriminately.
Thus, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act also serves as a bulwark against those unelected officials in Washington, D.C., who might be all too eager to introduce a CBDC sans the necessary privacy and individual liberty safeguards. Emmer underlines the critical importance of retaining financial privacy amidst the surging interest in digital currencies.
Reintroducing the anti CBDC bill illuminates the necessity for a CBDC that champions the tenets of privacy, individual autonomy, and the competitive free market. Given its bipartisan backing, the bill is slated for review by the House Financial Services Committee in the imminent weeks.
However, an interesting side note is that the U.S. is not the only nation exploring the development of a CBDC. Reportedly, around 130 countries are now mulling over digital currency versions, while a proud group of 11 countries, including China, have already successfully rolled out CBDCs.
Source: Cryptonews
