The 2024 Republican front-runner and former U.S. president, Donald Trump, has asserted that he would prevent the development of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) if he secures another term in the White House later this year.
“Tonight, I am also making another promise to protect Americans from government tyranny”, “As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.” Trump said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a contender against Trump in the primary, has strongly voiced his opposition to the establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). To solidify his stance, he has proactively prohibited CBDCs in his state. DeSantis has expressed concerns about the potential use of a digital dollar by the federal government to monitor Americans' spending habits, drawing parallels to China's utilization of its emerging central bank digital currency for surveillance.
As of now, Federal Reserve officials have not finalized the design details of a CBDC. However, in a 2021 paper, they indicated a conceptualization involving a token held in digital wallets managed by banks or other regulated financial entities. This approach contrasts with the idea of allowing direct deposits at the central bank for ordinary citizens. The proposal implies that banks would retain the responsibility of safeguarding transaction information, subject to requirements for reporting suspicious payments under anti-money laundering regulations.
“I have a one-word answer to central bank digital currencies: NO. Central bank digital currencies open a clear path to social credit scoring. No surprise that the CCP is leading the way," Ramaswamy said in his X post.