Two Texas lawmakers have introduced identical bills to create a gold-backed state-based digital currency, a move that comes despite objections from several United States lawmakers against the introduction of a central bank digital currency ( CBDC).
Senator Bryan Hughes introduced the Senate Bill 2334 on March 10, with Rep. Mark Dorazio introducing the 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 notes read.
The bill explains that once a person buys a certain amount of digital currency, the controller would use that money received to buy an equivalent amount of gold.
The buyer would then receive a digital currency equal to the amount of gold the controller buys with the money received from the buyer.
The value of one unit of digital currency must be equal to the value of the corresponding fraction of a troy ounce of gold at the time of the transaction.
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“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,” the bill said.
Added that a fee could be set “at any rate necessary” to cover the costs of administering this chapter.
Although neither bill has been approved or put up for a vote, both state that this law will take effect “on September 1, 2023.”
Several US legislators have recently opposed the US introducing a CBDC.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated at a press conference on March 20 that CBDCs would give the government “more power,” adding that it gives the government “a direct view into all consumer activities.”
Meanwhile, on March 21, Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to block the Federal Reserve from launching a “direct-to-consumer” CBDC, stating that it is “more important than ever” to ensure that US policy on digital currencies protect “financial privacy, maintain dollar dominance, and cultivate innovation.”
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