Key Takeaways
- On the surface, Republicans in Congress appear universally opposed to central bank digital currencies.
- However, efforts to ban CBDCs have stalled.
- The GOP leadership has passed over several opportunities to pass anti-CBDC legislation.
Five months after the House of Representatives passed the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, Republican efforts to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the U.S. haven’t progressed any further.
The anti-CBDC bill was initially hailed as a victory in the battle against financial surveillance. However, despite having multiple chances to seal the deal, lawmakers have failed to deliver on the legislation’s promise.
What Happened to the Anti-CBDC Bill?
With most Republicans united in their opposition to CBDCs, when the House passed a bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing its own digital currency in July, the stage seemed to be set for a swift ban.
However, few Senators have championed the cause.
Between partisan clashes over spending, healthcare, and crypto market structure legislation, not to mention the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, banning CBDCs doesn’t seem to be a priority for Congress.
Anti-CBDC Lawmakers Betrayed by GOP Leadership
In a recent interview, Rep. Keith Self said Republican leaders had promised to include anti-CBDC language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
This spending bill sets the annual U.S. defense budget.
But when the must-pass bill’s text was published on Sunday, Dec. 7, the promised ban was nowhere to be seen.
Calling out Speaker Mike Johnson’s apparent betrayal, Self filed an amendment to the NDAA on Tuesday, seeking to secure anti-CBDC language ahead of an expected vote on Wednesday.
However, he wasn’t optimistic about the amendment’s chances of being included. “I would be very surprised” if Congress manages to finalize a CBDC ban in the near term, Self said.
Voicing her dissatisfaction with the party’s top brass, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also condemned the Speaker for backtracking on anti-CBDC commitments.
“I voted NO on the GENIUS Act because it contained a back door to a Central Bank Digital Currency,” she stated on Tuesday.
Back then, Johnson corralled conservatives into supporting the stablecoin legislation by promising to include a provision banning CBDCs in the NDAA, Greene claimed,
“As usual, he didn’t keep his promise,” she asserted.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
