Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a new bill banning central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the state.
bill, dubbed SB-7054, bans the use of CBDCs as money within the state of Florida. It also prohibits the use of CBDCs issued by other governments and calls on other states to use their commercial codes to establish similar restrictions.
During a recent press conference, DeSantis highlighted concerns about the potential use of CBDCs to control and surveil Americans.
He suggested that governments could use CBDCs to prevent people from buying gas to combat global warming, or to track how often someone buys a firearm.
“Anybody can see with their naked eyes the danger this type of system would mean for Americans who want to exercise their financial freedom and without the government knowing every single transaction being made in real time.” want to be able to do business.”
The bill, which amends state law to exclude CBDCs from the definition of money, passed during the Florida House of Representatives session with only one vote against it.
DeSantis also claimed that the Biden administration is studying CBDCs to eliminate other types of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. He suggested that the administration is “looking to crowd in and eliminate other types of digital assets like cryptocurrencies.”
As informed ofFlorida’s governor pushed through the legislation in late March.
At the time, he said his intention with the bill was to “protect Floridians from the Biden administration’s weaponization of the financial sector through a central bank digital currency.”
CBDCs gain momentum but concerns remain
Florida’s move to ban CBDCs comes amid growing conversations and discussions around the development of CBDCs around the world.
Many central banks are considering launching their own digital currencies to modernize their economic systems and provide better financial services to their citizens.
The People’s Bank of China is leading the pack. After starting the development of its e-CNY in 2014, the country has launched several test pilots of its CBDC in different provinces.
Recently, the coastal province of Jiangsu Promise To launch a platform that will allow citizens to pay education fees using the country’s CBDC.
Apart from China, many other countries are either in development or pilot stage. This includes South Korea, Japan, India, Russia and others.
However, some analysts have raised concerns about the potential impact of CBDCs on privacy and financial freedom.
Critics argue that CBDCs could provide an ideal tool for governments to control and track financial transactions, thereby limiting people’s freedom to use their money as they wish.
Furthermore, because CBDCs will be digital and traceable, governments can monitor citizens’ transactions and even use them to determine an individual’s financial history, potentially Can cause negative consequences for some individuals.
