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bill

The bills state that the trustee must hold a sufficient amount of gold in reserve for all units of digital currency that have been issued and are still in circulation.

Two Texas lawmakers have introduced identical bills for creating a state-based digital currency backed by gold, a move that comes despite objections from several United States lawmakers against introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Senator Bryan Hughes introduced Senate Bill 2334 on March 10, with Representative Mark Dorazio introducing House Bill 4903 on the same day, stating that a fractional equivalent amount of physical gold would back the proposed digital currency.

“Each unit of the digital currency issued represents a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold held in trust,” the bills stated.

*Text of one of the bills. Source: capitol.texas.gov*

The bill explains that once a person purchases a certain amount of digital currency, the comptroller would use that money received to buy an equivalent amount of gold.

The purchaser would then receive digital currency equal to the amount of gold that the comptroller purchases with the money received from the purchaser.

The value of a unit of digital currency must be equal to the value of the appropriate fraction of a troy ounce of gold at the time of the transaction.

“The trustee shall maintain enough gold to provide for the redemption in gold of all units of the digital currency that have been issued and are not yet redeemed for money or gold,” the bill stated.

It was added that a fee might be established “at any rate necessary” to cover the costs of administering this chapter.

Although neither of the bills has been passed or presented for a vote, both state that this act will take “effect September 1, 2023.”

Several United States lawmakers have recently argued against the U.S. introducing a CBDC.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated in a March 20 press conference that CBDCs would grant “more power” to the government, adding that it provides the government “with a direct view of all consumer activities.”

Meanwhile, on March 21, Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to block the Fed from launching a “direct-to-consumer” CBDC, stating that it’s “more important than ever” to ensure U.S. policy on digital currencies protects “financial privacy, maintains the dollar’s dominance and cultivates innovation.”

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CBDC

Two lawmakers in one week weighed in against the possibility of a United States central bank digital currency.

Two lawmakers in one week weighed in against the possibility of a United States central bank digital currency (CBDC). Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — expected by many to throw his hat into the ring for the 2024 U.S. presidential race — has called for a ban on a digital dollar in the state. DeSantis spoke out against the Federal Reserve issuing and controlling a CBDC, claiming the initiative would grant “more power” to the government.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz went even further, introducing a bill to block the Fed from launching a “direct-to-consumer” central bank digital currency. Cruz stated it’s “more important than ever” to ensure U.S. policy on digital currencies protects “financial privacy, maintains the dollar’s dominance and cultivates innovation.” The anti-CBDC bill is a second attempt by Senators Cruz, Braun and Grassley, who introduced a similar bill on March 30, 2022, to prohibit the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals.

Representative Tom Emmer introduced another anti-CBDC bill in February. The bill could prohibit the Fed from issuing a digital dollar directly to anyone, bar the central bank from implementing monetary policy based on a CBDC, and require transparency for projects related to a digital dollar. It’s also presented as an apparent effort to protect Americans’ right to financial privacy.

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The next G7 meeting in May might bring a push from seven of the world’s advanced economies for stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies globally. Together, leaders from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and the European Union will outline a cooperative strategy to increase crypto transparency and enhance consumer protections, as well as address potential risks to the global financial system, officials told journalists.

Recommendations on the regulation, supervision and oversight of global stablecoins, crypto assets activities and markets are scheduled to be delivered by July and September 2023. It is unclear, however, what the overall tone of the recommendations will be.

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Cody Harris, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, has introduced a resolution to have the legislature say the “Bitcoin economy is welcome” in the state. Harris encourages Texas lawmakers to “express support for protecting individuals who code or develop on the Bitcoin network,” as well as miners and Bitcoiners operating in the Lone Star State. House Concurrent Resolution 89, if adopted, would largely not apply to Texas’ laws and regulations but instead express a certain sentiment among lawmakers.

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Biden Administration

Ted Cruz said it is “more important than ever” to ensure the financial privacy of American citizens is preserved.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to block the United States Federal Reserve from launching a “direct-to-consumer” central bank digital currency (CBDC).

In a March 21 statement, Cruz said he introduced the bill to prevent the Fed from developing a retail CBDC “which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government.”

Cruz stated it’s “more important than ever” to ensure U.S. policy on digital currencies protects “financial privacy, maintain’s the dollar’s dominance and cultivates innovation,” and added:

“CBDCs that fail to adhere to these three basic principles could enable an entity like the Federal Reserve to mobilize itself into a retail bank, collect personally identifiable information on users, and track their transactions indefinitely.”

Cruz claimed the federal government has “no authority to unilaterally establish” a CBDC.

“We should be empowering entrepreneurs, enabling innovation, and increasing individual freedom — not stifling it,” he stressed.

The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency.

Read about my new bill in @FoxBusiness: Ted Cruz introduces bill blocking Fed from adopting central bank digital currencyhttps://t.co/LoX3u41nA4
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 21, 2023

Cruz’s anti-CBDC bill has the backing of Republican Senators Mike Braun of Indiana and Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

In statements, both expressed the belief that a CBDC would be used as a surveillance tool.

If the bill is passed into law, it would ensure that the state isn’t “snooping” on the finances of hardworking Americans, Grassley stated:

"The American people ought to be able to spend their money how they choose without the possibility that every transaction could be tracked by the government."

The anti-CBDC bill is a second attempt by Cruz, Braun and Grassley, who introduced a similar bill on March 30, 2022 to prohibit the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals.

However, nearly 12 months later, the bill still hasn’t moved past the introduction phase.

Meanwhile, considerable progress is being made on a U.S. dollar CBDC since President Joe Biden signed an executive order to “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” in March, 2022.

In November, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and several large financial firms including BNY Mellon, Citi, HSBC, and Wells Fargo participated in a 12-week digital dollar pilot program with MasterCard and SWIFT.

Cruz, Braun and Grassley aren’t the only U.S. politicians fighting to stamp out CBDCs.

On March 20, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis called on state lawmakers to introduce legislation banning the digital dollar in Florida.

DeSantis compared the digital dollar to China’s digital yuan and claimed the e-CNY has been used to extensively “monitor citizen behavior,” saying:

“Any way they can get into society to exercise their agenda, they will do it. So, what the central bank digital currency is all about is surveilling Americans and controlling behavior of Americans.”

No CBDC in Florida https://t.co/p9pwSTmrlN
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 20, 2023

U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer recently introduced an anti-CBDC bill of his own on Feb 22.

Emmer also spoke of the privacy concerns surrounding CBDCs saying a programmable dollar could be “easily weaponized” as a spying tool to “choke out politically unpopular activity.”

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Got Bitcoin? US Senator Ted Cruz Introduces Bill To Enable Crypto Payments on Capitol Hill

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US Senator Ted Cruz pushes for crypto in Congress … using snacks

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btc payment

A newly introduced resolution could potentially see lawmakers buying sodas and chips using crypto-supporting vending machines.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is pushing the United States Congress to adopt cryptocurrency within its halls using an incentive both sides might agree on — food.

Cruz introduced a concurrent resolution dated Jan. 25 that would only allow vending machine and food service contractors that accept crypto as a payment option within the U.S. Capitol.

If adopted, the Architect of the Capitol, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives would be required to find the crypto-accepting food and vending firms.

At the time of writing, the text of the resolution was not publicly available on the Congress website. It’s unknown the potential cost of implementing the measure, or if the resolution would require contractors to take payment in certain cryptocurrencies.

*The U.S. Capital Cafe could be one of the purveyors required to take crypto payments. Source: Google*

Cointelegraph contacted Cruz’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Cruz has long been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrencies, especially lauding Bitcoin (BTC) for its decentralization. At roughly this time last year, the senator bought between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of BTC, according to a financial disclosure.

He is one of only eight known crypto investors in Congress, according to the “Bitcoin Politicians” crowdsourced data project.

The list also includes Cynthia Lummis, the Wyoming senator behind a pro-crypto piece of legislation and Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvanian senator who recently introduced a stablecoin bill aiming to create a regulatory framework for payments.

Senator Cruz also has signaled his interest to make his home state of Texas an oasis for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying crypto mining could be used to monetize the energy from oil and gas extraction and the activity may be used as an alternate way of storing energy.

The resolution put forward by Cruz will need to be agreed to in both the Senate and the House before it can be adopted.

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