USThe United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion has announced a highly-anticipated hearing set to take place on September 14, which will focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). This hearing marks a significant moment as it will be the first time in several months that lawmakers in the House committee will address critical issues related to the potential rollout of a digital dollar in the United States.
The hearing, aptly titled the ‘Digital Dollar Dilemma,’ will delve into the various implications of releasing a CBDC in the United States. It will also explore alternative approaches from the private sector. This discussion comes at a pivotal time, just a couple of weeks before Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is scheduled to testify before the full committee.
The decision to hold this hearing highlights the growing importance of digital currencies and the urgent need to address the potential impacts and opportunities they present. During the summer months, when the lawmakers were largely in recess in August, the issue of CBDCs gained prominence as a significant policy position for some presidential candidates gearing up for the 2024 election.
US House Financial Services Committee on CBDC
Notably, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of the leading Republican Party candidates and a prominent figure behind former U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed his intentions in July to ban CBDCs if he were to be elected. This stance underscores the diverse opinions surrounding digital currencies within the political landscape.
Another Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race, Vivek Ramaswamy, has also voiced criticism against CBDCs. He went so far as to draw parallels between CBDC technology and China’s controversial social credit system, raising concerns about potential privacy and surveillance issues associated with digital currencies.
Within the U.S. Congress, various legislative approaches have been proposed to address the complex challenges linked to the rollout of a CBDC in the country. Some lawmakers have considered limiting the authority of the Federal Reserve when it comes to issuing a digital dollar. Additionally, at the state level, several U.S. states have taken matters into their own hands by passing bills that explicitly prohibit the use of CBDCs as payment options, with Florida being one such state to adopt such measures.
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