United States representative Tom Emmer issued a warning against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) citing privacy issues. The United States Republican House Majority Whip has been very vocal in raising his voice against the risks and uncertainties associated with it.
Central Bank Digital Currencies are similar to stablecoins in that they are digital tokens whose value is tied to the value of a national currency, such as the dollar, like the United States.
CBDCs are issued and managed by their national governments or central banks rather than by private enterprises on decentralized networks.
The adoption of CBDCs, in the opinion of U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer, will compromise the financial privacy of American citizens. On 23rd January 2023 Bank of America reported that the Central Bank Digital Currencies could revolutionize the global financial system. It also considered CBDCs as the biggest technological advancement in the history of money.
On the 9th March panel hosted by Cato Institute which is a libertarian platform to share views, the Congressman described this thing as a war between the United States government and the common people.
In the United States privacy is considered a very crucial part of life. Financial privacy is becoming a very vibrant issue in America after witnessing several data breaches around the world. Many banks worldwide including Japan and Australia are making their way to launch their CBDC.
Congressman Tom Emmer blamed that mindset of the United States falling behind other countries in terms of managing privacy policies. On 23rd February, he presented legislation seeking to uphold the rights and security of Americans amid volatile markets.
Questions raised by Tom Emmer in Cato Institute dragged the attention of many prominent organizations worldwide. However, the Vice-chair of the Fed assured that they are aware of privacy concerns that occurred due to this and focused on research and development to ensure security. The USA is already lagging in the implementation of CBDCs and the privacy concerns raised by Tom Emmer could delay it further.
