On Wednesday, North Carolina's House of Representatives unanimously voted 118-0 with two absences in favor of a bill that would ban the state's court system, as well as its agencies, from accepting payments of any kind made using Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve. This bill would also prohibit the state from participating in any CBDC pilot tests currently running or planned for the future. It is important to note that the title used in the original introduction of the bill was "No Cryptocurrency Payments to State".

In recent time, countries such as China have already implemented different pilot tests for CBDCs, with the European Union currently in the middle of a 2-year experiment for its digital euro. On the other hand, US legislators like Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) have opposed the issuance of digital dollars by stating that "CBDCs could be weaponized as a political tool".

The original introduction of the bill was sponsored by representatives Harry Warren and Mark Brody. As the debate between pro and anti-CBDC factions continues to grow, more states are expected to decide on their attitude towards digital currencies in the near future.

While digital currency has become a cornerstone of financial ecosystems all over the world, its implications remain to be better understood by regulatory bodies. Governments need to come to an agreement on how they will handle CBDCs, or whether they will even be allowed in the first place, in order to implement ethical economic policies.



Other News from Today