Legislation that requires the Biden administration to report on the potential national security risks associated with China’s use of an official digital currency has been included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
The Communist China’s Digital Currency National Security Risks Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Mark Warner (D-VA), requires reporting on risks arising from Chinaʻs potential surveillance of financial transactions; risks related to security and illicit finance; and risks related to economic coercion and social control by China.
“A Chinese digital currency could have significant national security implications for the U.S.,” Warner, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said. “This bill will ensure the intelligence community is monitoring and reporting on the risks posed by China’s digital currency, including its potential to be used as a way to evade U.S. sanctions or increase the Chinese government’s surveillance and ability to exert social or economic control. We cannot be caught flat-footed on these developments, which is why I fought to include this bill in the Intelligence Authorization Act.”
Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said China might have the most advanced state-sponsored digital currency among major economies in the world.
“Now is the time for the U.S. intelligence community to act and inform us of their assessment of the different national security risks to America so that Congress may act appropriately and protect the U.S. Dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency—a key ingredient of America’s global leadership,” Hagerty said.