The Imminent Danger of Central Bank Digital Currencies

The world is rapidly approaching a dystopian state where societies embrace centralized digital economic systems. America is no exception to this disturbing fact. On the eve of a “digital dollar”, it is important to understand what the prospective system would look like, and it is even more important to ensure the system never comes to fruition. 

Lately, one of the primary objectives of central banks around the globe has been to create their own version of a digital currency. These currencies are commonly referred to as central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. A CBDC is issued directly by a nation’s central bank, meaning all citizen accounts are managed and monitored by a single institution. This poses obvious risks, with central banks having nearly boundless control over users of their CBDC. Upon issuing a CBDC, central banks also become in direct competition with other traditional banks, and they do so with an artificial advantage. This system contradicts free-market capitalism, the economic principle on which America was founded.

As it currently stands, at least a dozen nations have already developed and launched their own digital currency, with 18 additional countries in the pilot phase of their CBDC launches. At least 70 countries are either in the research or development phase of launching a digital currency, including the United States. China’s “digital yuan” is the most developed CBDC thus far and is utilized alongside China’s social credit system to impose totalitarian control over all elements of daily life in China. Recently, a so-called “digital euro” has been floated as a new CBDC to centralize digital financial transactions across Europe. In February, a group of six members from the European Central Bank’s executive board and 20 heads of European central banks met in Finland to discuss the implementation of a digital euro and how to obtain public acceptance for the new currency. This indicates that there will be a serious push for the creation of a “digital Euro” in the near future, which could expand the threat of central bank digital currencies to yet another region.

The dangers associated with central bank digital currencies are almost infinite. If adopted, the digital dollar would immediately become one of the largest mass surveillance tools in the world. To make matters worse, a digital dollar will undoubtedly result in accelerated inflation as large amounts of the new currency are introduced into the economy. Additionally, since CBDCs are programmable, governments are able to utilize the new system for their own desires. For example, restrictions can be programmed into CBDCs, making them only spendable at certain locations. CBDCs can also be engineered to include an expiration date, forcing individuals to either spend the currency within a given time or lose it. Furthermore, a digital dollar could be used to issue welfare payments directly to eligible Americans or even universal basic income in radical cities and states. Finally, CBDCs have been floated as a method to fulfill the fantasy of many climate alarmists to institute carbon rationing and taxation. Since all digital financial transactions made via the digital dollar network are monitored, it would be very easy to assess each individual’s carbon consumption within a given year and charge for what is deemed excessive carbon usage.

In America, the digital dollar is creeping closer to reality each day. Last year, the Federal Reserve released a document titled “Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation.” The paper outlined a roadmap for the Federal Reserve to release a digital dollar CBDC. Just two months later, Biden signed Executive Order 14067. The order directed the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury to officially explore the development of a CBDC. In November, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York launched a 12-week pilot program for a digital dollar. Participants in the program included Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Mastercard. On March 1st, the U.S. Treasury announced that they were developing the technology for a digital dollar following Biden’s executive action. According to Nellie Yiang, the undersecretary for domestic finance, “We are engaging in the technological development of a CBDC so that we would be able to move forward rapidly if a CBDC were determined to be in the national interest.” In the next step towards a digital dollar, the Federal Reserve recently announced a July launch date for their new “FedNow” payment service. The FedNow instant payment processing system is aiming to be the foundation of digital transactions in America. This type of government-sponsored instant payment processing system has shown to be a prelude to central bank digital currencies in other nations, such as India and Nigeria. 

For a CBDC to be issued in America, congressional approval is required. Thankfully, numerous representatives and senators have pushed back against a digital dollar. Last month, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act (H.R. 1122). The legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. Specifically, the act states “a Federal Reserve Bank may not offer products or services directly to an individual, maintain an account on behalf of an individual, or issue a central bank digital currency directly to an individual.” The act is currently co-sponsored by over a dozen other Republican representatives. A companion bill was unveiled by Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz on March 21st, which would also block the creation of a digital dollar. To quote Senator Cruz, “The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency.” Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a co-sponsor of Cruz’s legislation, went even further by proclaiming, “The American people ought to be able to spend their money how they choose without the possibility that every transaction could be tracked by the government. Policy this impactful should be made by Congress, not government bureaucrats, and our bill would ensure that no one is snooping on the finances of hard-working Americans. Every American deserves that peace of mind.” 

CBDCs are moving beyond the scope of just the federal government. Legislation is rapidly accelerating ahead in states across the country to assist in the implementation of a CBDC. The objective of these various bills is to recognize CBDCs as money through amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which is a set of laws regarding commerce that has been adopted in all 50 states. States where UCC amendments in favor of a digital dollar are moving towards passing include Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. 

Only a select group of elected state officials have been willing to stand against these dangerous proposals. In South Dakota, Republican Governor Kristi Noem vetoed H.B. 1193 on March 9th. The bill would have amended the UCC to officially recognize CBDCs as money. According to Governor Noem, “As we started reading through it, we saw the section of the bill that changed the definition of currency. And essentially what it did was pave the way for a government-led CBDC. So for me, it very clearly was a threat to our freedom…We’ve got the same language coming to over 20 other states. I believe it’s to pave a way for the federal government to control our currency, and thus control people. It should be alarming to people, and it’s being sold as a UCC guidelines update”. 

Furthermore, the Republican-led Oklahoma House of Representatives is taking legislative action to protect Oklahomans from CBDCs. If passed, H.B. 1633 requires physical businesses and government agencies to accept cash as payment. The act also prohibits establishments from mandating use of a credit card or central bank digital currency. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been one of the most vocal elected officials in opposition to a CBDC. On March 20th, Governor DeSantis announced legislation that blocks the adoption of a CBDC in Florida. Rather than amending the UCC to encourage the use of a CBDC, DeSantis is aiming to change the UCC to prohibit a digital dollar from being recognized as money within Florida. To quote DeSantis, “The Biden administration’s efforts to inject a centralized bank digital currency is about surveillance and control. Today’s announcement will protect Florida consumers and businesses from the reckless adoption of a centralized digital dollar, which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance.” 

Americans may not be able to dictate the economic policies of other countries, but they should be able to do so in their own nation. With that being said, a Federal Reserve-issued CBDC has clearly become an imminent domestic threat. In order to protect America and the dollar, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act must be passed while Americans also strongly reject any local efforts to facilitate a digital dollar.

Parker Bono is an 18-year-old patriot from Southern California. Before joining AMAC, Parker wrote a total of 6 books as a teenager. He wrote his first book when he was just 13 years old. Parker is also an active member of his community. He has worked on nearly a dozen different political campaigns and has helped get conservative candidates elected to an array of government positions.