Senator Cynthia Lummis praises Bitcoin, calls CBDCs “the beast”

Senator Cynthia Lummis reiterated her bitcoin agenda on Friday, mocking the merits of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.

In a recent interview with Fox Business on Friday, July 13, Lummis emphasized the potential benefits of bitcoin reserves in bolstering the global strength of the U.S. dollar. The Wyoming senator, touted as Congress’s “crypto queen,” voiced her concerns about CBDCs, describing them as “the beast” due to their potential for government surveillance.

“There will not be a central bank digital currency. I’m very happy about that because it’s a means of oversight of the American people,” Lummis told Kudlow. “But we want to make sure that people can have individual wallets for their bitcoins, so they have sovereignty over their own money.”

Lummis, a Republican, is also a vocal activist. twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1785695683514630367″ data-type=”link” data-id=”https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1785695683514630367″ target=”_blank” rel=””>critical by the U.S. Department of Justice for charging companies like Tornado Cash with unlicensed money transmission.

The founders of Tornado Cash were accused of money laundering more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds.

In a Friday social media post on x, Lummis outlined her key goals, including opposing retail CBDCs, safeguarding self-managed bitcoin wallets and ensuring dollar supremacy in the 21st century. Her pro-bitcoin stance stands in stark contrast to the current ambiguous regulatory environment that has drawn criticism from cryptocurrency industry leaders.

See below.

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'Right to mine' bitcoin

Lummis also touted former President Donald Trump’s promise to mine bitcoin in the U.S. It is worth noting that the United States is already one of the leading nations in bitcoin mining activities. Moreover, approximately 94% of bitcoin has already been mined.

Like Lummis, Trump has also expressed opposition to CBDCs.

Earlier this year, the Quadruple accused The Republican Party front-runner for the 2024 election called CBDCs “very dangerous” and claimed they could lead to sudden and unexplained withdrawals from people’s bank accounts, though the basis for this claim remains unclear.

Trump's views on cryptocurrencies have fluctuated; in 2019, he criticized bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for their volatility and potential to facilitate “drug trafficking and other illegal activities.” Today, Trump, recently discovered guilty of falsifying business records: He manages a cryptocurrency portfolio and sells non-fungible tokens (nfts) featuring Photoshopped images of himself.

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Why Trump and Lummis could be wrong

According CoinbaseCBDC proponents argue that these digital currencies can streamline transactions, provide financial services to the unbanked, and improve payment security by ensuring that transactions are finalized and unalterable, thereby reducing fraud.

CBDCs represent a digital form of a country's fiat currency, issued by the state and not tied to a physical commodity.

Several central banks, including the US Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Japan, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), and Germany's Deutsche Bundesbank, are exploring the issuance of CBDCs.

The growing interest in CBDCs is driven by multiple trends: the declining use of cash, the growing interest in privately issued digital assets, the perceived need for central banks to innovate in the payments space, and the rise of global payment systems.

Lummis’ defense of bitcoin and skepticism toward CBDCs reflect broader debates about the future of digital currencies and their impact on the financial system.