US Rep. Warren Davidson Criticizes CBDCs, Advocates Permissionless P2P Money Instead

The United States Republican Representative, Warren Davidson, has reiterated his stance against a government central bank digital currency (CBDC), claiming that they should be banned and criminalized.

In response to a job posting, from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, for a “senior crypto architect” to work on a CBDC project, Davidson accused the Fed of “building the financial equivalent of the Death Star.”

He urged the government to ‘swiftly’ ban and criminalize any activity related to designing, building, developing, or testing CBDCs.

“Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) corrupts money into a tool for coercion & control.”

In a separate Tweet, Davidson noted that money shouldn’t be programmable by a central authority and advocated the use of permissionless peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions instead of CBDCs.

“Money should be a stable store of value and an efficient means of exchange, not a tool for surveillance, coercion, and control,” he noted.

The Congressman representing Ohio’s 8th District has been highly vocal against the development of CBDCs. In March, Davidson wrote a letter to Congress, urging his colleagues to fight back against CBDCs. He also noted that the government is favoring the use of state-owned CBDC in private transactions as money, which will impact the privacy and freedom of U.S. citizens in cash transactions.

Davidson had earlier introduced legislation to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler in April, citing a “long series of abuses” as his motivation.

Digital Dollar Scope Fades

The Fed has been actively involved in researching a government-backed CBDC – digital dollar – which has stirred controversies in the country. However, it said that a CBDC wouldn’t be issued without authorization from Congress.

That said, like Davidson, a group of anti-CBDC politicians have emerged with the message that the digital dollar is something to fear. For instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, banned the use of a “centralized digital dollar,” in May.

“The movement to establish a central bank digital currency is an attempt to surveil & control the finances of Americans. It would violate privacy, limit consumer choice & undermine market competitiveness,” DeSantis noted at the time.

Additionally, Republican Tom Emmer has warned against state-controlled digital money, calling it a “weapon” to spy on US citizens. He also introduced a bill – the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act – to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC in the US, as well as to improve oversight on all CBDC-related work done at the Fed.

With a slew of opposition from various US House of Representatives, a digital dollar looks less likely in the near future.