Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the next Republican politician to take a firm stance against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in the United States. 

The governor recently voiced support for a ban on CBDCs within the state, blasting such technologies as tools of financial surveillance. 

Standing Against CBDCs

In a speech shared over Twitter on Monday, DeSantis recalled President Biden’s digital asset executive order in March 2022, which called on government agencies to explore the creation of a CBDC. 

“It provides the government with a direct view over all consumer activities,” said the governor, noting that CBDCs are “different” from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

“What the central bank digital currency is all about is surveilling Americans, and controlling behavior of Americans,” he continued. 

While crypto networks like Bitcoin are technically not private (all transactions are visible on its public blockchain), they are still anonymous. Anyone across the world is free to access the network without needing to identify themselves or their wallets. 

By contrast, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has previously claimed that a potential CBDC would be the inverse of that: all network users would be identified and vetted, but their transaction history would remain private. 

Nevertheless, DeSantis likened a potential CBDC to China’s digital yuan, where the People’s Bank of China surveils spending habits and can “cut off access to goods and services.” He also cited Nigeria as a cautionary tale, where the central bank has capped ATM withdrawals to boost the adoption of its eNaira – which