Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Prohibiting Use of Central Bank Digital Currencies in Florida

On Friday Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis signed laws that bans the usage of a central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) within the state. Following the invoice SB 7054 being signed into regulation, Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) now explicitly forbids the usage of a federally adopted CBDC as cash.

Florida Puts the Brakes on CBDCs

The Sunshine State has formally outlawed the usage of a central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) following the approval of SB 7054 or HB 7049 by the Florida House of Representatives and Senate. Governor Ron DeSantis put pen to paper and signed the bill, cementing the ban on Friday. The signing ceremony, which occurred in Fort Myers, was attended by Wilton Simpson, the state’s thirteenth commissioner of agriculture, and Kathleen Passidomo, president of the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy at Fort Myers Technical College.

The new anti-CBDC regulation will come into impact on July 1, 2023. “They’re going to be able to have the window into what you’re doing with the money and the ability to control where that money is going,” DeSantis said through the signing ceremony. “They could block, if you filled up your gas tank too much, hey, they’re fighting global warming, ‘You can’t do any more.’ Maybe you bought a firearm last week. They don’t want you to buy another one this week.”

Several GOP lawmakers, together with Tom Emmer and Ted Cruz, have launched payments opposing the usage of CBDCs. Governor DeSantis is urging different politicians and states to comply with Florida’s instance and take a stand towards CBDCs. However, not everyone seems to be on board with this resolution. Nobel laureate and Keynesian economist Paul Krugman criticized DeSantis, stating that it’s “highly unlikely that a state government would have the right to prohibit” the usage of a CBDC.

While some Republican state leaders are against CBDCs, others are extra welcoming. Surprisingly, Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is understood for her robust stance towards corruption within the banking business, is in favor of CBDCs. In a current interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, Warren expressed her help for CBDCs, stating that “it’s time for us to move in that direction.”

Governor DeSantis, alternatively, stays resolute in his perception that CBDCs pose a risk to Florida’s monetary stability and is decided to steer the cost towards them. “I’m just glad we are thinking ahead here in the state of Florida because once this genie is out of the bottle, I think it will be very hard to put back in,” DeSantis said in Fort Myers. There is a widespread perception that DeSantis has his sights set on the White House and will probably be working for president of the United States within the 2024 election.

What are your ideas on Florida’s resolution to ban the usage of central financial institution digital currencies (CBDCs)? Let us know what you suppose within the feedback part under.