Congressman Warren Davidson called for outlawing and criminalizing CBDCs

United States Republican Representative Warren Davidson has spoken out against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), urging Congress to ban them and criminalize their development.

In a July 23 Twitter post, Congressman Davidson accused the Federal Reserve of “building the financial equivalent of the Death Star,” stating that the CBDC corrupted money into a tool for coercion and control, adding:

“Congress must swiftly ban then criminalize any attempt to design, build, develop, test, or establish a CBDC.”

Davidson’s comments come in response to a position advertised by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for a “senior crypto architect” to work on a CBDC project.

The Federal Reserve is building the financial equivalent of the Death Star.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) corrupts money into a tool for coercion & control.

Congress must swiftly ban then criminalize any attempt to design, build, develop, test or erect a #CBDC. pic.twitter.com/9JWiyj5H2f

—Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) July 23, 2023

Responding to comments from Twitter users, Davidson argued that money should be a stable store of value, and should not be programmed by a central authority.

“Healthy Money should facilitate peer-to-peer transactions without permission,” he added.

The Federal Reserve has been actively researching the technology for a potential digital dollar but has not made a decision on whether to issue it. The possibility of a digital version of the US dollar has generated controversy in the country and is expected to become a major talking point in the upcoming presidential election.

Congressman Davidson is not alone in his concern over the potential of the Fed-controlled digital dollar either.

On July 14, US presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would “abolish any central bank digital currency” if he became president. In May, DeSantis signed into law limiting the state’s use of CBDCs.

Related: IMF CBDC push gets feedback from crypto community — ‘Nobody wants this’

Republican Tom Emmer has also been vocal in his warnings against state-controlled digital money. In March, the libertarian think tank said programmable CBDCs would be “easily weaponized” as espionage tools to “smother unpopular political activity.”

Emmer introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in February to “stop efforts by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, DC of disinheriting Americans of financial privacy.” The bill was supported by Texas Senator Ted Cruz who introduced his own CBDC blocking bill in March.

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