What Will America Look Like When Joe Biden’s Central Bank Digital Currency Becomes a Reality?

Before we dive into the details, it’s important to understand what exactly constitutes a Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC.

A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital form of a country’s national currency issued by its central bank. Unlike traditional physical money such as banknotes and coins, CBDCs exist in electronic or digital form.

CBDCs are distinct from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as they are typically issued and regulated by a central authority, such as the central bank or federal government. The central bank oversees the creation, distribution, and regulation of the CBDC.

Is a Central Bank Digital Currency good for the federal government or our people?

Former President Donald Trump warned that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or a Fed-controlled Digital Dollar “would give our federal Government absolute control over your money.”

“They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it’s gone. This would be a dangerous threat to our freedom.”

Are there any cases where countries have introduced a CBDC while maintaining control over their citizen’s financial resources?

Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, admitted that the purpose of CBDCs, like the digital euro, is control. She also noted that those who pay more than 1,000 EUR in cash for any transaction are doing so off the grid and will be fined or go to jail.

Whoa, using your own cash for private transactions over 1,000 EUR in the European Union will send you to jail? That’s a pretty scary thought.

Are there any reports as to how China is using its CBDC?

Wired magazine reports that “China’s Digital Yuan Works Just Like Cash—With Added Surveillance.”

Back in January 2021, a Forbes article had the headline: “China’s Digital Yuan Reported To Be the Ultimate Financial Censorship Tool.”

Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) told reporters that “The Chinese Communist Party’s move to use government-run digital currency to impose further control on its people and its economy is a cautionary tale that America must avoid.”

On one side of the aisle, we have those in our government who are in favor of a CBDC.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted (in a February 22, 2021, virtual conference hosted by the New York Times) that a digital dollar is a high-priority project for the U.S.

In fact, the Federal Reserve announced in August 2020 that the central bank had partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers to build and test a digital currency.

At the beginning of his tenure, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14067 on “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” Hidden in section 4 of this order is some alarming language. In just a few paragraphs, our current president has possibly set the stage for…

• Legal surveillance of U.S. citizens
• Control of all bank accounts and purchases
• The ability to crush free speech and silence opposing voices

Then we have Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) pro-digital dollar draft—Senate Bill 3571—Banking for All Act. It describes Federal Digital Wallets.

Now, to add icing to the cake,  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), introduced legislation to abolish digital money privacy. It’s called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022.

This Act could strip privacy from digital money transactions, should the United States enact a CBDC, also known as Fedcoin. This is what American Banker, an organization dedicated to updating bankers on all financial and banking affairs, had to say about the Act:

This bill violates our digital privacy. The bill would require digital wallet companies to register as money services businesses, which means they would have to monitor clients’ payment transactions like banks even if they don’t move money. This means that a wallet company would be responsible for monitoring our personal digital wallets … for filing reports to the federal government.

As Forbes has reported in the past: “Privacy advocate experts worry that digital currencies would give governments too much control over how and where people spend their money. Many see them as the ultimate tool of government financial surveillance.”

Now, on the other side of the aisle are freedom-loving Americans fighting against this CBDC like Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN).

February 2023, Emmer introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to halt efforts of unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which Emmer said “strips Americans of their right to financial privacy” and is “a dangerous surveillance tool.”

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) says, “CBDCs pose a clear threat to Americans’ financial independence.”

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) says, “The Federal Reserve’s push to develop a central bank digital currency would allow the Fed to track an individual’s transactions indefinitely.”

These representatives are fighting against the issuance of a CBDC or a Digital Dollar. If this all sounds sinister, then you may need to look at another way of protecting your savings and retirement from this coming government intrusion into your finances.

The Feds have been studying Digital money for a while now. In January 2022, the Fed’s Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released a white paper titled: “Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation.”

Here’s what can you do before a CBDC or a Digital Money law is enacted by our federal government.

If you have a 401(k), cash savings, or an IRA, consider protecting 20 to 40 percent so that no matter what the worst-case scenario is, you will be protected.

By putting some of your portfolio/savings into gold and other precious metals, you protect your purchasing power not only from inflation but also by taking it out of the reach of those who want absolute control over you and your money.

In an article last month, an executive at banking giant Morgan Stanley warned that “the recent growth in interest of digital assets such as Bitcoin, growth of stablecoin volumes and the promise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), have potential to significantly alter the currency landscape.” Is this a signal that things are beginning to inch closer to a CBDC?