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08/07/24
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North Carolina Governor Vetoed Bill Prohibiting CBDC
Three days ago, the governor of North Carolina vetoed House Bill 690 No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State aimed at restricting the state government from using and accepting a Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC). This comes after the state’s General Assembly passed the bill on June 26.
In a statement by Governor Cooper on his veto of the bill, he noted that there are efforts by the federal government to establish standards and safeguards towards protecting consumers, investors and businesses that may be interested in using digital assets for monetary transactions, so the state should be patient in understanding how they work prior to any action.
“This legislation is premature, vague and reactionary and proposes an end result on important monetary decisions that haven’t even been made yet. Instead of this bill, the legislature should have passed a budget to provide more funding for cybersecurity threats that actually exist now,” said Cooper.
The bill does not want agencies and courts in North Carolina to accept “payment using central bank digital currency.” Likewise, it would prohibit their participation in CBDC tests “by any Federal Reserve branch.”
Given that the bill passed on a 109-4 vote in the state’s House on June 26 and the Senate passed it on a 39-5 vote on June 25, it may be easy for the legislators to override the governor’s veto with a three-fifths majority in both chambers.
According to Dan Spuller, the Blockchain Association’s head of industry affairs, vetoing the bill shows that an opportunity to declare that the state strongly opposes a CBDC was missed.
“Digital asset policy must remain in the hands of the American people, ensuring that any development of digital currency reflects our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness,” said Spuller.
The United States was “nowhere near recommending or let alone adopting a central bank digital currency in any form,” said Fed Chair Jerome Powell a few months ago.
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