Is the Biden administration finally going to put its tentative plans for a digital currency into practice? We’ve had a year of pro-digital currency documents from Biden, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and other government entities are reportedly waging war on independent cryptocurrency. A China-style digital currency might come to the U.S. all too soon.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) tweeted on March 15, “Today, I sent a letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg regarding reports that the FDIC is weaponizing recent instability in the banking sector to purge legal crypto activity from the U.S.” He included screenshots of his letter.
Today, I sent a letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg regarding reports that the FDIC is weaponizing recent instability in the banking sector to purge legal crypto activity from the U.S. 👇 pic.twitter.com/fDmaA0XGWv
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) March 15, 2023
Emmer’s letter says, “Recent reports indicate that Federal financial regulators have effectively weaponized their authorities over the last several months to purge legal digital asset entities and opportunities from the United States.” The “regulatory efforts” have “‘single[d] out’” certain financial institutions to “‘send a message to get people away from crypto.’”
Emmer argued this could “lead to broader financial instability.” He said that the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency urged banks not to hold crypto or to service crypto clients on a “‘safety and soundness’” basis in January. That same month, Emmer wrote, the White House National Economic Council published a roadmap with Biden’s plan to “lawlessly abuse the Administrative State to push American crypto firms, and their American customers, into offshore, unregulated, opaque, and unsafe markers.”
Emmer’s letter added, “The Administration’s demonstrated effort to choke off digital assets from the United States financial system is a lazy and destructive regulatory strategy that is stagnating innovation.”
So why would the federal government be targeting crypto? Perhaps it’s tied to the fact the Biden administration made several moves toward a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital dollar in 2022. In March 2022, Biden signed an “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” that called for “research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.”
Then the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in Sept. 2022 issued, “Technical Possibilities for a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency.” And the Nov. 2022 G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration, endorsed by Biden and published on the White House website, specifically supports “Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).” Therefore, the Biden administration has been interested in pursuing a national CBDC for at least a year now.
The question remains — why are the FDIC and other government agencies targeting cryptocurrency? Is it because crypto can be harder for the government to control? Is it because crypto can be “risky”? Or is this the latest move in preparing for a national digital currency?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member