Trump’s Treasury pick dismisses U.S. CBDC efforts

United States Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent dismissed U.S. efforts to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Talking to the Senate Finance Comittee in a recent Associated Press video, Bessent can be seen explain how he is not interested in developing a U.S. CBDC. He said:

“I see no reason for the U.S. to have a central bank digital currency. […] In my mind, a central bank digital currency is for countries who have no other investment alternatives.”

CBDC’s are the digital version of a nation’s central bank-created fiat currency. In most cases they are divided into wholesale — a CBDC that only facilitates interbank transactions — and retail — one that can be used by members of the public.

CBDC critics argue that retail digital currency systems allow for unprecedented oversight and control over the public — with great potential for state abuse.

The statement follows state-level opposition to CBDC development by republican politicians. At the end of June 2024 the North Carolina Senate passed a bill aimed at prohibiting the CBDC — democrat governor Roy Cooper refused to sign it before it was adopted without his approval.

Bessent’s point of view stands in stark contrast with the views previously expressed by multiple federal agencies who have explored the CBDC concept. The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Debt Management wrote in a late 2024 report:

“In a similar manner to how privately-issued ‘wildcat’ currencies were replaced by government-backed central currencies in the late-1800s, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) will likely need to replace stablecoins as the primary form of digital currency underpinning tokenized transactions.”

If Bressent is confirmed as Treasury Secretary by Trump when he is sworn into office on Jan. 20, he could reverse federal CBDC-relevant initiatives. This would play into Trump’s last year’s promise to “never allow” the creation of a CBDC if he were re-elected.

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