Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has introduced new legislation to protect residents from a national CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) in accordance with the new Uniform Commercial Code. The bill, if passed, would also protect Floridians from a global digital currency issued by a foreign central bank. Florida, according to DeSantis, will not support the deterioration of financial freedom. Governor DeSantis has also urged other governors to fight surveillance and control from the federal government by enacting similar legislation under their commercial codes. Tarren Bragdon from The Foundation for Government Accountability stated that he supported the bill and was opposed to a government bureaucracy which was clearly out of control. Elsewhere, The Federal Reserve of the United States recently announced that its FedNow payments system would go live in July 2023. FedNow, widely regarded as a forerunner to a programmable CBDC, will aspire to settle payments quickly between merchants, consumers, and banks. It is worth noting that blockchain technology is not used in the settlements. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard stated in May of last year that FedNow serves nearly the same purpose as a CBDC. A CBDC, on the other hand, would be legal tender instead of a real-time payment system.
