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US Congressman Tom Emmer has introduced a bill to prohibit the US Federal Reserve from launching the digital dollar directly to individuals due to threats to their privacy.
Many central banks have been researching the possibility of launching their own digital currencies for years, assessing their risks and benefits. Several central banks, including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), are actively testing government stablecoins, and the Central Bank of the Bahamas has already launched the Sand Dollar. Despite this, Tom Emmer (Tom Emmer) proposed a bill according to which the Federal Reserve is prohibited from offering the state digital currency directly to individuals.
Government cryptocurrencies do not provide cash protection, Emmer said. It is important that the United States policy on central bank digital currencies protects privacy, maintains dollar dominance, and fosters innovation. If these three principles are not followed, the Fed could turn into a retail bank that collects personal data from users and tracks their transactions.
“American financial information will become centralized and vulnerable to cyberattacks, and can also be used to monitor US citizens. People should not tolerate this from their government, ”said the congressman.
He added that if users open an account with the Fed to access the digital dollar, it would be like China’s “digital authoritarianism”. Last year, US senators also expressed concerns that the digital yuan could be used by the Chinese authorities to spy on users. Therefore, Emmer is convinced that the US central bank should not open retail bank accounts for the digital dollar. However, any digital currency launched by the Fed must be open, controlled and confidential.
Given that Emmer worked alone on the preparation of the bill, and the Republican Party, of which Emmer is a member, is in the minority, the congressman’s proposal is unlikely to be approved. Despite Emmer’s tough stance on central bank digital currencies, he is loyal to cryptocurrencies. Last year, he called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the launch of an ETF on Bitcoin, and in 2020 said that Bitcoin will only grow during crises.
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