Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer has introduced legislation prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to anyone.
For a variety of reasons, the pro-crypto lawmaker does not want the US central bank to distribute stablecoins to individuals.
Importance of financial privacy
Emmer announced on Jan. 12 that he had submitted legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from unilaterally controlling a digital currency in the United States.
Other countries, such as China, are producing CBDCs that do not provide the benefits and safeguards of currency, according to him. A digital dollar should be a transparent blockchain-based version of its paper counterpart.
Emmer, who has previously expressed concerns about centralization and control, is afraid that if the Fed controls any CBDC, financial privacy will be compromised:
“It’s more important than ever for the US to guarantee that its digital currency policy protects financial privacy, preserves the dollar’s dominance, and supports innovation.”
Caution regarding China’s authoritarianism
Rep. Emmer went on to say that if the Federal Reserve doesn’t follow these rules, it might “mobilize itself into a retail bank.”
This would be undesirable for a variety of reasons, including the possibility of collecting personal information and tracking citizens’ purchases permanently.
Emmer’s government website provided history and specifics, as well as a link to the bill. He went on to say:
“Not only does the CBDC concept raise concerns about “single points of failure,” which might jeopardize Americans’ financial data, but it also has the potential to be utilized as a surveillance tool, something Americans should never be compelled to accept from their own government.”
According to several sources, this is the primary purpose for China’s CBDC push, which is yet another instrument in the country’s ever-expanding monitoring and censorship arsenal.
If users had to register accounts with the Fed directly to access the digital currency, Emmer said, the central bank would be on “an evil path analogous to China’s digital despotism.”
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