Florida Is First U.S. State To Ban Central Bank Digital Currency

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FORT MYERS, FL – Governor Ron DeSantis signed a first-of-its-kind legislation last week banning the use of a federally-adopted Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Florida to protect the freedom of Florida residents. Additionally, the bill also prohibits the use of foreign CBDCs in the state.

Gov. DeSantis said in a press release that the bill is meant to prevent “government overreach” from controlling one’s personal finances and “to protect consumers against globalist efforts to adopt a worldwide digital currency.” SB 7054, which passed in the legislature with strong bipartisan support, revised the definition of money in Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code, the state’s governing laws for commercial transactions, to exclude any CBDC.

On March 9, 2022, the Biden administration issued an executive order to explore a federal CBDC. Unlike other digital currencies like cryptocurrency or bitcoin, a CBDC would be directly controlled and issued by the government, potentially giving it the ability to see all consumer activity and control what a person can buy or sell. While the U.S. government has yet to formally announce the creation of a federal CBDC, the White House released in September 2022 a framework to guide the “responsible development of digital assets,” which places an urgency on developing a CBDC should it “be deemed in the national interest” to issue one.

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