Treasury Secretary Bessent Throws Cold Water on Digital Dollar: "No Plans for US CBDC"
Another day, another finance heavyweight dodging the crypto future. US Treasury Secretary Bessent just made it clear—Washington won’t be playing the central bank digital currency game anytime soon.
The CBDC Cold Shoulder
While China races ahead with the digital yuan and the EU waffles over regulation, Bessent’s stance keeps the US stuck in analog purgatory. Guess those lobbyists still prefer their paper trails.
Crypto Wins by Default
Every delay on a Fed-issued stablecoin just hands more ground to Bitcoin and decentralized alternatives. The irony? The very ’wild west’ they fear grows stronger with every bureaucratic hesitation.
Wake us up when the Treasury discovers Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V—or better yet, when they stop pretending cash is king in 2025.
CBDCs Back in the Spotlight
A central bank digital currency has been on the table for discussion amongst officials as digital assets and cryptocurrencies become more prominent worldwide. Multiple countries are already adopting their own CBDCs to serve as an alternative to fiat, but the US has been mostly against it. Back in April, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee voted 27-22 to advance the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. This Republican-led bill, championed by Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, aims to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar amid some growing fears over financial surveillance and crypto regulation.
There have been questions on whether the CBDC bill could be revised once Donald Trump became president. However, Trump has spoken against other countries launching CBDCs. Therefore, as a strong supporter of Bitcoin, he believes that Bitcoin mining is the final line of defense against central bank digital currencies CBDCs developed by other nations.
A CBDC would allow holders to store value and make payments digitally and would be backed by the Fed. However, other features are unresolved and up for debate. Crypto generally records transfers on public, decentralized (or distributed) ledgers stored using blockchain technology. With the US looking towards publishing more payments on blockchain technology, CBDCs are hence back on the debate stage.
