U.S lawmakers Introduced Bill to Ban Use of Chinese Digital Currency in the country

By: Michael Wilson

U.S lawmakers Introduced Bill to Ban Use of Chinese Digital Currency in the country

May 28, 2022 4:25 AM

The bill was passed by various U.S lawmakers to prohibit app platforms such as 'Google and Apple' stores in the country from hosting apps that enable transactions using China’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan.

 

According to the lawmaker who introduce the bill, he believes that Chinese government will use its digital currency as an opportunity to spy and control anyone using it. The senator said:

 

“We cant give China that chance, stressing further he said; the Chinese Communist Party will use its digital currency to control and spy on anyone who choose to use it.”

 

Protecting Americans from Authoritarian Digital Currencies Act


Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas)a U.S Senator on Wednesday, introduced the “Defending Americans from Authoritarian Digital Currencies Act” which was also co sponsored by two other Senators in Marco Rubio and Mike Braun from Florida and Indiana respectively.

 

In the context of the bill, the legislation attempts “To prohibit the use of the digital currency payment system operated by the government of the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes.”

 

The announcement details that the bill bans “app stores in the United States from hosting apps that enable transactions using the Chinese Communist Party’s digital yuan.”

 

Senator Braun commented:

“The Chinese Communist Party’s digital yuan allows direct control and access to the financial lives of individuals. We cannot allow this authoritarian regime to use their state-controlled digital currency as an instrument to infiltrate our economy and the private information of American citizens.”

 

“It makes no sense to tie ourselves to the digital currency of a genocidal regime that hates us and wants to replace us on the world stage,” Senator Rubio said.

 

China has been actively developing and testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) since 2014 when the people's Bank of China (PBOC) sets up a research group to study digital currencies. it made its international debut in the just concluded 2022 winter games in Beijing enabling visitors to download a digital yuan wallet app.

 

According to the latest data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), e-CNY had 261 million unique users at the end of 2021. also, transactions worth more than 87.5 billion yuan ($13.8 billion) have been made using the digital currency.