US senators introduced a bill to protect against the digital yuan

China’s national cryptocurrency will allow countries under US sanctions to bypass global financial systems, the Senate believes

11.03.2022 - 10:35

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What’s new? A new US Senate bill aims to combat the influence of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Senators Bill Cassidy and Marsha Blackburn have introduced the Say No To the SilkRoad Act, which aims to establish new regulations and guidelines on China’s CBDC. The senators fear that the digital yuan (e-CNY) will enable the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to collect users’ personal data.

“China’s digital yuan allows the CCP to collect personal data on their own citizens and foreign users alike. This bill holds China accountable as they introduce their new digital currency,” Senator Cassidy said.

Link to the bill’s press release

What is known about the bill? The bill calls on the Secretary of Commerce to prepare a report on China’s use of the digital yuan as well as its use in the United States. In addition, any foreign government receiving assistance under the Foreign Military Financing Program should provide information on whether the government uses digital yuan as a settlement or reserve currency.

What preceded it? China introduced its digital national currency at the Winter Olympics. The digital yuan surpassed Visa in the number of transactions, but most of them were made outside the Olympic zone.

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