Step 1: Campaign against CBDCs

Step 2: Become President and issue an EO against CBDCs

Step 3: Nominate the one pro-CBDC candidate, Kevin Warsh, for Federal Reserve Chair?

Trump really is the president of contradictions.

68 economists have come out of the woodwork calling for the ECB to launch a CBDC.

I guess this is a good reminder that just because a lot of people say something doesn’t mean it’s right.

This letter is particularly troubling, though. I say that because their argument lacks an understanding of both central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and economic history.

The economists claim that a CBDC like the digital euro would be “an essential safeguard of European sovereignty, stability, and resilience.” https://sustainablefinancelab.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/506/2026/01/The-Digital-Euro-Let-te-public-interest-prevail.pdf

Setting aside their lack of evidence to back the claim, where has this been true in practice?

It certainly isn’t true in The Bahamas.
https://www.cato.org/commentary/bahamians-didnt-want-cbdcs-so-now-theyre-being-forced-use-them

It certainly isn’t true in Jamaica.
https://www.cato.org/briefing-paper/cbdc-lessons-caribbean

It certainly isn’t true in Nigeria.
https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2023/03/06/nigerians-rejection-of-their-cbdc-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-other-countries

Do I need to go on?

The CBDC experience varies country to country, but no CBDC has been “essential” in any sense of the word.
https://cbdctracker.hrf.org/home

Yet, even within Europe’s borders, the economists appear to misunderstand economic history.

Pointing to the dominance of non-European financial institutions, the authors say the only defense is for the European government to intervene. Yet, interventions by the European government are partly why European businesses have struggled to gain ground.

https://www.cato.org/blog/europe-blames-america-its-payment-problems-digital-euro-wont-help

Rather than being free to serve customers, European businesses must navigate a maze of red tape: customer-surveillance mandates, extensive reporting rules, and regulatory fragmentation.

Making matters worse, price controls—such as caps on interchange fees—prevent new entrants from generating the revenue needed to manage these compliance burdens. It’s not a market failure if the source of the issue is government intervention.

If the economists are right about one thing, it’s that the European Parliament should be careful about who it takes advice from.

If you run or work in financial services (banking, bitcoin, or anything else) in the Eurozone, dm me! I'm working on a follow-up to my piece calling out the ECB's "freedom money" campaign, and the perspective on the ground would be very helpful here.

Thank you for flagging it! I have it in my calendar to update the references in the tracker once it's official. However, Bulgaria will be added even sooner as the governor Dimitar Radev recently revealed that the Bulgarian government has been actively participating in CBDC research. (I expect to have entry live in the next few days)

It’s incredibly disappointing that the Department of Justice has denied my FOIA request and appeal.

President Biden requested a report on how to create CBDC legislation, but the folks currently in charge have decided this information should be hidden from the public.



The issue dates back to 2022 when President Biden placed “the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” As part of this effort, President Biden instructed the Department of Justice to put together an “assessment of whether legislative changes would be necessary to issue a United States CBDC.”

Yet, the report never saw the light of day.

When it became clear that the report wasn't going to be published, I submitted a FOIA request and members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Still, nothing.

https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-doj-keeps-cbdc-legislation-secret-cato-rep-hill-seek-answers

I thought the change in administration might mean I would get the documents faster given how vocally opposed President Trump has been to CBDCs.

Yet, instead, the request still ended in rejection.

In explaining the rejection, the Department of Justice says releasing the information “would harm the interests” of the government.

Given how the rise of CBDCs has increasingly become a public concern, the American people deserve to know what the Department of Justice and the White House think needs to be done to create a CBDC.

Thank you to @nprofile1q... for the shout-out in the Oslo Freedom Forum report!



https://hrf.org/latest/2025-off-recap-report/