Ron DeSantis Is Concerned About Fed Creating A Digital Currency As U.S. Dollar Replacement  

(PresidentialHill.com)- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is fighting back against the Biden administration and Federal Reserve’s effort to create a central bank digital currency, according to The Daily Wire. He criticized the plan, which would tie the currency to the value of the dollar, as a way for the federal government to control and surveil American citizens.  

In response, DeSantis signed legislation that would not recognize central bank digital currencies, whether they came from the American federal government or foreign banks. DeSantis called Biden’s move “reckless,” and claimed that it would hold back innovation and push surveillance instead.  

While China, Australia, Japan, India, Russia, and South Korea are reportedly looking into digital banks, they have already been instituted in other countries, such as the Bahamas, Nigeria, and Jamaica.  

Critics of the centralized move say that it could negatively impact those with differing political opinions, citing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who froze the bank accounts of protestors participating in the Freedom Convoy. PayPal has also taken steps to remove users’ money from their accounts if they pushed “racism or misinformation.”   

Cryptocurrency was originally instituted as a decentralized means to spend money, but that idea is going away as governments are looking at regulating the market and imposing their own centralized bank which would do the opposite. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis expressed his concern that citizens’ transactions will be able to be monitored and privacy would not exist.  

The Federal Reserve, however, argues that such a bank would allow the U.S. dollar to stay relevant and compete on an international scale. It would also allegedly counterbalance the volatility and liquidity issues confronting cryptocurrencies.  

Chair Jerome Powell appears to be on the fence about the measure, saying that they will look into whether the benefits outweigh the costs.