House passes CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act with limited bipartisan support 

Three Democrats joined Republicans Thursday in supporting a bill that would block the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail CBDC

article-image

US Rep Tom Emmer | Al Mueller/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Anti-Surveillance State Act in a vote of 216-192. The bill aims to block the Federal Reserve from directly offering a CBDC to individuals and using it to implement monetary policy. 

Three Democrats — Reps. Mary Peltola from Alaska, Marie Perez of Washington and Jared Golden of Maine — voted in favor of the bill. No Republicans voted against the legislation. 

The bill, introduced in September by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., had earned 165 cosponsors, all of which are Republican, by the time the House voted on Thursday afternoon. 

“My legislation ensures that the United States’ digital currency policy remains in the hands of the American people so that any development of digital money reflects our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness,” Emmer said in a statement on X after the vote. 

Emmer first introduced a version of the bill in February 2023. 

“This bill puts a check on unelected bureaucrats and ensures the US digital currency policy upholds our American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness,” Emmer said in September. 

The bill now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate, which recently passed joint resolution 109, an effort that, should the president sign off, would overturn the Security and Exchange Commission’s staff accounting bulletin (SAB) 121. 

Emmer’s CBDC bill marks the second piece of crypto-focused legislation to pass in the House this week. Representatives on Wednesday evening passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, known as the FIT21 Act, with two amendments. FIT21 advances to the Senate after 71 House Democrats opted to vote in favor of the bill.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

drift.png

Research

We believe DRIFT offers a unique addition to portfolios as Solana fundamental beta, with a number of idiosyncratic potential future catalysts, particularly in the context of its valuation relative to some peers.

article-image

Uniswap Labs has put one fire out by settling with the CFTC, but the real challenge may still be yet to come

article-image

Plus, does crypto need a city to call home?

article-image

AltLayer’s new platform offers developers templates and tools to rapidly deploy Actively Validated Services

article-image

Two CFTC Commissioners are over the so-called “regulation by enforcement” trend

article-image

Attorney John Deaton aims to take Elizabeth Warren’s US Senate seat this November

article-image

There’s a misunderstanding that TradFi players don’t want to transact in bitcoin, says Cantor Fitzgerald’s Howard Lutnick