Florida Will ‘Never Recognize a Centralized Digital Currency,’ DeSantis’ Office Says

According to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on April 11, Florida will never acknowledge a centralized digital currency (CBDC). This statement was made one day after state lawmakers proposed legislation that would ban CBDCs from being used.

Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary, said in a tweet that CBDCs are critical to big government and globalist agendas. He also shared an image stating that “Biden bureaucrats are working to further weaponize the financial sector” using CBDCs, which will ultimately increase surveillance and control of Americans.

The tweet further added that CBDCs endanger personal privacy, economic freedom, community financial institutions, fintech innovation, and access to goods and services by limiting purchases.

The legislation, introduced on April 10 by Florida lawmakers, will specifically prohibit the use of federally sanctioned CBDCs as authorized money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code, as well as banning CBDCs issued by foreign government reserves and central banks such as China’s digital yuan.

Federal Reserve Not Yet Decided on CBDC

Rep. Wyman Duggan, a Republican, introduced House Bill 7049 (pdf) and defines CBDCs as a “digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is made directly available to a consumer by such entities.”

The legislation also redefines the meaning of “money” to be a medium of exchange currently authorized or adopted by domestic or foreign government under Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code. However, it specifically excludes CBDCs issued by foreign or federally sanctioned entities from that definition, effectively prohibiting its use in Florida.

Senate Bill 7054 (pdf), introduced by the Committee on Banking and Insurance, provides similar definitions of CBDCs and money, preventing both federal and foreign-owned central bank digital currencies from being used in the state while still allowing the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

The Federal Reserve said on Twitter on April 10 that it had not decided to issue a central bank digital currency and would not do so without clear support from Congress and the executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorization law.

The bank points out that a CBDC would not only have implications for monetary policy but would also need to address a broad range of legal, financial and operational questions.