%DonaldTrump says he will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S. if he is re-elected president later this year.
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Trump told the assembled crowd: “As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency… This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America.”
Trump added in his remarks that: “Such a currency would give a federal government absolute control over your money. They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it was gone.”
CBDCs are digital versions of cash that are issued and regulated by central banks. They may or may not use %Blockchain as an underlying support technology.
While there’s currently no proposal from the U.S. Federal Reserve to introduce a CBDC, central banks around the world have studied digital currencies as commerce becomes more electronic in nature and holding cash becomes increasingly unnecessary.
CBDCs have emerged as a hot political issue, particularly among conservative American voters.
In a report last fall, %BankofAmerica (NYSE: BAC) said that while central banks are exploring CBDCs, the issuance of a U.S. digital dollar by the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. is unlikely.
The U.S. presidential election is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5 this year.