In recent news, Robert Kennedy, a Democrat lawmaker, has raised concerns about the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) and their intentions behind central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He also calls the CBDCs an ultimate instrument for societal monitoring and controlling.
The Democrat lawmaker took to Twitter and posted an extensive thread expressing concerns about CBDCs and questioned Fed’s assertions that FedNow would not be utilized to assist a CBDC. FedNow is a 24/7 instant payments system that is set to start in July with the goal of speeding up transactions between financial institutions and companies while also offering a government-backed alternative to comparable private-sector networks.
According to Kennedy, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies function on a decentralized network that is less subject to market volatility and government rules.
In this context, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supports the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as an alternative to the old financial system. Kennedy believed that cryptocurrencies would provide a safe haven for the people when the present financial bubble explodes.
The US government claims that its plans to launch FedNow are intended to keep up with the expanding arena of developments in the financial space. However, Kennedy’s remarks reflect the larger sentiment of several Republican politicians who have labeled CBDCs as an insult to financial privacy rights or possibly prone to limiting routine transactions.
A few days following the launch of the platform by the Federal Reserve, criticisms started to pour in. To this, the authorities clarified and updated plans for the launch of the platform. The Fed said that it would not deploy a CBDC when its FedNow payments program goes live in July.
In addition, it said that the method for quick payment between financial institutions is not a substitute for cash. Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, had a similar opinion as Kennedy. He also voted against the idea of a CBDC in the state.
While he submitted a restriction on CBDCs from any country to the state assembly, he theorized that the technology might be used to limit handgun purchases or fuel sales. Governor DeSantis is a Republican and responded to the Fed’s statement with the following tweet.
Even though Kennedy and other individuals have started to see cryptocurrencies as a potential solution to the traditional financial system’s challenges, a lot needs to be done on the government’s end. The authorities’ actions indicate that significant regulatory and legal hurdles must be overcome before cryptocurrencies can become a mainstream alternative to the traditional financial system.
Interestingly, Kennedy’s recent tweets lend a bipartisan slant to an issue that has mostly been promoted by conservative voices i.e. the Republicans. The states as well as lawmakers in the US have been hugely divided on the matters of digital assets. More often than not Republican leaders have been found to advocate for cryptocurrencies and voice concerns around the CBDC whereas Democrats tend to criticize the crypto industry.