(OPINION) Whenever the White House says it is working on a plan that would transform a vital part of the U.S. economy, and that the administration is doing so with the “highest urgency,” it should go without saying that the press should pay close attention to what’s going on.
Even more importantly, the press should eagerly and comprehensively inform the public of the potential risks associated with such a proposal. Unfortunately, that’s not happening today, and the effects of the media’s negligence could reverberate for decades to come.
On March 9, the Biden administration released an executive order (EO) instructing a long list of federal agencies to study digital assets and to propose numerous reports about their use and proposals to regulate them. Much of the executive order is focused on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, which run on blockchain technology and have become increasingly popular among many investors and consumers in recent years.
But there is an even more important part of the EO: President Biden has instructed the federal government and Federal Reserve to lay the groundwork for a potential new U.S. currency, a digital dollar.
If the United States were to adopt a digital currency like the one discussed in Biden’s executive order, it would be one of the most dramatic expansions of federal power ever made, one that could put individuals and businesses in grave danger of losing their social and economic freedoms.
Among other important actions, the White House executive order directs several federal agencies, including the Treasury Department, to study the development of a new central bank digital currency (CBDC) and to produce a report within 180 days of the EO discussing the potential risks and benefits of a digital dollar. The order further directs the Treasury Department, Office of the Attorney General, and Federal Reserve to work together to produce a “legislative proposal” to create a digital currency within 210 days, about seven. READ MORE
