US Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer has presented a new bill prohibiting a proprietary Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issuance to Americans by the United States Federal Reserve.
Liberal and pro-crypto BTC proponent Tom Emmer has previously dissuaded the fed from the issuance of CBDC, and he has backed up his warnings with firm actions as reflected in the anti-CBDC bill he introduced in Congress earlier this week.
Emmer’s bill presentation doesn’t come as a surprise for most in the industry, as his previous tweets and statements clearly express his stance on CBDCs. He believes that The Federal Reserve could mirror China’s authoritarianism should they control the issuance of the CBDCs.
Emmer is convinced that yielding control of the digital assets class to the Fed is a bad idea; he is vehemently against the development for several reasons. Earlier on the 12th of January, Emmer tweeted that he had presented a bill to Congress that will see the revoking of the Fed’s authority over the issuance and control of the digital currency.
His tweet cited precedents of other countries like China developing CBDCs that leave out the advantages and consumer protection that fiat currencies afford. He said quote, the digital USD should remain digital, a transparent blockchain- leveraged version of the paper greenback.
Emmer, a politician who has levied prior warnings about centralization and control in the traditional finance space in the US, is convinced of an eventual decline of the US economy should the Fed proceed with the issue of digital assets. Of the many reasons the congressman thinks the Fed issuance of CBDC is bad, the possibility of financial privacy erosion tops the list, according to his later announcements.
The US’s digital assets policy should ensure maximum protection for absolute privacy more than ever in other to sustain the dollar’s global finance and cultivate innovation among Americans, he added.
The US Should Not Emulate China’s Authoritarianism
Emmer went on to state that should the Fed fail to adhere to financial privacy principles; it could effectively downgrade itself to a retail outlet of stablecoins. Such a scenario is inevitably bad news as the bank could collate and track all personal information and effectively track American’s transactions.
Additional background information was released on Rep. Emmer’s government website. An access link for the postulated bill is also featured on the webpage.
He continued his constructive criticism as he stated that the Feds CBDC framework does not account for possible exploitations that can leave many Americans vulnerable due to a potential leak of private information. He said that the model could be used as an alternate surveillance tool that monitors unsuspecting Americans; no American should be subjected to such treatment by their government.
According to the congressman, the Fed is now on a road path of emulating China’s authoritarianism if it requires Americans registration via accounts leveraged on their system to access the stablecoins.
The US Should Prioritize Innovation
He stated that an ideal US stablecoin should feature transparency, privacy, and innovation, adding that the framework should also field accessibility to all and sundry while maintaining the strong points of the fiat currency counterpart.
Utmost priority should be afforded for innovation by the government without competing with the already established private sector, he stated.
He concluded that America must prioritize Blockchain tech and its associated innovations leveraged on American ingenuity instead of emulating the Chinese digital authoritarianism due to fear of the unknown.