Two Republican lawmakers from Texas, Sen. Bryan Hughes and Rep. Mark Dorazio, have introduced legislation to create a gold-backed digital currency that could be enacted by the state legislature. Lawmakers believe this currency could greatly benefit the Lone Star State and, as an alternative digital currency, could give Texans the ability to bypass a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
SB No. 2334 Introduces the Establishment of a Gold-Backed Digital Currency in Texas
Of late, US lawmakers have been discussing reimposing the gold standard, and recently Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene advocated for its return. Specific bureaucrats have also vehemently opposed the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and politicians such as Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Greene have opposed CBDCs. Now, two Texas legislators have introduced a bill (SB No. 2334) that would allow the state to establish a gold-backed digital currency.
“The controller shall establish a gold-backed digital currency so that each unit of the digital currency issued represents a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold held in trust,” the Texas bill states. “The trustee will maintain sufficient gold to provide for the redemption into gold of all units of the digital currency that have been issued and have not yet been redeemed for money or gold,” explain the bill’s sponsors, Hughes and Dorazio.
The United States’ gold standard has long since been removed, and if the bill gains traction, the US Treasury Department may not approve Texas’ attempt to create a gold-backed digital currency. The US government also suppressed private gold-backed altcoin creations, having closed Bernard von NotHaus’s account. liberty dollar headquarters on March 18, 2007. At the time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized approximately nine tons of gold and silver backing the Liberty Dollars.
In the same year that Liberty Dollar was shut down, a US federal grand jury also closed the e-gold digital currency project operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. (G&SR). However, the gold-backed digital currency proposed in the Texas bill would be operated by the state government. Despite this, 13 different states They have been trying to create altcoins, state and gold backed for the last 14 years, but all these attempts have been unsuccessful.
The proposed gold-backed digital currency in Texas would be held in a trust controlled by the state comptroller. The bill notes that “certain monies and deposits held in the trust are not subject to legislative appropriation.” In addition, the Texas legislators note that by “establishing the digital currency, the controller shall establish a means to ensure that a person who possesses the digital currency can readily transfer or assign the digital currency to any other person electronically.”
What do you think about Texas’ attempt to create a gold-backed digital currency and how it might affect the future of altcoins in the United States? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.
image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any product, service or company. bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
