Sen. Ted Cruz introduces bill to block Fed from creating central bank digital currency

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has proposed legislation to stop the Federal Reserve from creating a direct-to-consumer central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to a recent release. Cosponsored by Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), the "bill goes a long way in making sure big government doesn’t attempt to centralize or control cryptocurrency and instead, allows it to thrive in the United States," Cruz had said in a statement. Since last year, the Biden administration and the U.S. central bank both have been examining the pros and cons of developing a CBDC, a central bank-issued digital currency that's denominated in the issuing country's fiat currency (such as the U.S. dollar, euro or yen). In June 2022, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that a CBDC could preserve the U.S. dollar's standing and the Fed is assessing whether a U.S. CBDC "would improve on an already safe and efficient domestic payments system." "The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency," Cruz emphasized . Cruz's remarks come one day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called for a state-level ban on a CBDC. Dear readers : We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to click here to join the separate political discussion .