S. 1124: Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act

This bill, known as the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, aims to modify the Federal Reserve Act concerning the direct involvement of Federal Reserve banks with individuals and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Here are the key elements of the bill:

Prohibiting Direct Services

The bill stipulates that Federal Reserve banks are not allowed to:

• Offer products or services directly to individuals.
• Maintain accounts on behalf of individuals.
• Issue a central bank digital currency or any similar digital assets, regardless of the name they may go by.

Indirect Issuance Restrictions

Federal Reserve banks are also prohibited from indirectly offering a central bank digital currency to individuals through financial institutions or other intermediaries. This means that even if an individual were to access a digital currency via a bank or another financial entity, the Federal Reserve would be barred from facilitating that exchange.

Prohibition on Testing and Implementation

The bill further prevents the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee from:

• Testing, studying, developing, creating, or implementing a central bank digital currency or any digital asset deemed similar.
• Using a central bank digital currency to manage monetary policy or for similar purposes.

Exceptions Outlined

Despite the prohibitions, the bill clarifies that any digital currency that is open, permissionless, private, and fully preserves the privacy protections traditionally associated with U.S. coins and physical currency would not be considered a central bank digital currency as defined in this legislation.

Congressional Authority Statement

The bill expresses that Congress believes the Federal Reserve does not have the authority to issue a central bank digital currency or similar digital assets unless such authority is explicitly granted by Congress, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

Relevant Companies

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