Former U.S. President Donald Trump firmly denounced the digital dollar, the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the United States, during a campaign event in New Hampshire.
Trump emphasized his commitment to preventing the U.S. government from having "absolute control over your money," citing it as a significant threat to freedom.
“As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency. Such a currency would give the federal government absolute control of your money,” said Trump.
“This would be a dangerous threat to freedom—and I will stop it from coming to America.”
The push for CBDCs has gained global attention, with entities like the World Economic Forum and the United Nations advocating for the implementation of digital currencies. CBDCs, unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, are digital representations of traditional currency issued and regulated by central banks, with varying use of blockchain technology.
President Trump promises to nix plans for a central bank digital currency during speech in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) January 18, 2024
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/EpMWdufokm pic.twitter.com/pU0l4wukMM
According to the Atlantic Council, 11 CBDCs have already been launched in countries like Nigeria, The Bahamas, Ecuador and Senegal. Meanwhile, 21 are in the pilot phase, 33 are in development and 46 are still in the research stage.
Critics argue that CBDCs would grant government officials and unelected bureaucrats unprecedented control over public spending. They contend that governments could potentially block individuals from accessing their own funds or restrict spending on specific items.
Trump, who recently secured a significant victory in Iowa, pledged to implement "strong protections" to safeguard individuals from being de-banked based on their political beliefs. This assurance comes amid ongoing concerns about the potential threats to privacy, security and freedom posed by the advent of this “digital cash.”
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Donald Trump says "As your president, I will never allow the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. Such a currency would give our federal government absolute control over your money." pic.twitter.com/lSE2AGYgOm
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 18, 2024
Republican opposition to CBDCs
The anti-CBDC sentiment within the Republican party has been gaining traction since early 2023 when Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis promised to eliminate CBDCs on his first day as president. DeSantis also pushed for legislation in Florida to limit the use of a digital dollar and ban CBDCs from foreign governments.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer also reintroduced the Central Bank Digital Currency Anti-Surveillance Act in the fall. This legislation aims to curb the Federal Reserve and member banks from issuing a digital dollar and integrating it into monetary policy-making decisions.
Emmer, along with 49 co-sponsors, expressed concerns about the potential threat posed by unelected bureaucrats. He drew parallels between the envisioned use of CBDCs and the surveillance tactics employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On Day One as President, we take the idea of Central Bank Digital Currency and we throw it in the trash can.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 7, 2023
It’ll be dead on arrival. pic.twitter.com/AyveWejDUl
“If not designed to be open, permissionless, and private—emulating cash—a government-issued CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that would be used to undermine the American way of life,” he said.
During a September 14 hearing, representative French Hill, the chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, echoed these sentiments. He argued that CBDCs lack widespread support, except from those on the fringes who view them as a potential solution to unspecified global problems.
The first anti-CBDC bill in the United States passed out of the Financial Services Committee today! A historical step in defending against an ever-expanding government surveillance state. https://t.co/1XXSEHOhNC
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) September 20, 2023
Limited polling on the issue indicates a lack of enthusiasm from the broader public. A May Cato Institute study disclosed that only 16 percent of Americans support the federal government adopting a CBDC.
“Introducing CBDC is likely to have certain costs to individual economic liberty by providing the state with more tools—and hence greater temptation—to establish command-and-control style public policy,” said Christina Parajon Skinner, an assistant professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Skinner added that, in her view, the costs of introducing CBDCs seem to outweigh the anticipated benefits.