Sen. Cynthia Lummis reiterated her Bitcoin agenda on Friday and derided the merits of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.
In a recent interview with Fox Business on Friday, July 13, Lummis emphasized the potential benefits of Bitcoin reserves in bolstering the US dollar’s global strength. The Wyoming Senator, touted as Congress’ “Crypto Queen,” expressed her concerns about CBDCs, describing them as “the beast” due to their potential for government surveillance.
“No central bank digital currency – I’m so happy about that because that’s a means of surveillance of the American people,” Lummis told Kudlow. “But we want to make sure people can have individual wallets for their Bitcoin, so they have that sovereign over their own money.”
Lummis, a Republican, is also a vocal critic of the U.S. Department of Justice for bringing charges against companies like Tornado Cash for unlicensed money transmitting.
Tornado Cash’s founders were charged with laundering more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds.
In a Friday social media post on X, Lummis outlined her key objectives, including opposing retail CBDCs, safeguarding self-managed Bitcoin wallets, and securing the dollar’s supremacy in the 21st century. Her pro-Bitcoin stance stands in stark contrast to the current ambiguous regulatory environment that has drawn criticism from crypto industry leaders.
See below.
‘Right to mine’ Bitcoin
Lummis also hyped Former President Donald Trump’s promise to mine Bitcoin in the U.S. It’s worth noting that the U.S. is already one of the leading nations in Bitcoin mining activities. Also, about 94% of Bitcoin has already been mined.
Like Lummis, Trump has also voiced his opposition to CBDCs.
Earlier this year, the quadruple-indicted GOP front-runner for the 2024 election labeled CBDCs as “very dangerous.” He claimed that they could lead to sudden, unexplained withdrawals from people’s bank accounts, although the basis for this assertion remains unclear.
Trump’s views on cryptocurrencies have fluctuated; in 2019, he criticized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for their volatility and potential to facilitate “drug trade and other illegal activity.” Today, Trump — recently found guilty of falsifying business records — manages a cryptocurrency portfolio and peddles non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring photoshopped images of himself.
Why Trump, Lummis might be wrong
According to Coinbase, proponents of CBDCs argue that these digital currencies can expedite transactions, provide financial services to the unbanked, and enhance payment security by ensuring transactions are finalized and unalterable, thereby reducing fraud.
CBDCs represent a digital form of a country’s fiat currency, issued by the state and not pegged to a physical commodity.
Several central banks, including the US Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Japan, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and Germany’s Deutsche Bundesbank, are exploring the issuance of CBDCs.
The growing interest in CBDCs is driven by multiple trends: the decline in cash usage, increasing interest in privately issued digital assets, a perceived need for central banks to innovate in the payments space, and the rise of global payment systems.
Lummis’s advocacy for Bitcoin and skepticism towards CBDCs reflect broader debates about the future of digital currencies and their impact on the financial system.