Treasury says a central bank digital currency is off the table, urges Congress to pass stablecoin clarity legislation

A reporter asked whether digital currency could be used to track citizens' spending or restrict freedoms. The Treasury secretary responded that a central bank digital currency is not being pursued by the administration and said the primary aim is to bring digital assets onshore under U.S. regulation.

"There will be no central bank digital currency," the secretary said, adding that the administration supports stablecoin legislation (referred to as the "clarity act") and urged Congress to provide regulatory certainty. He argued that bringing digital-asset activity to the U.S. would ensure better safeguards and standards.

The secretary framed offshore digital-asset activity as the cause of many of the problems readers hear about and said Congressional clarity would encourage the industry to locate under U.S. rules. He did not, in the briefing, provide the specific text of proposed legislation or detail on privacy safeguards or enforcement mechanisms that would accompany any statutory changes.

Reporters asked about privacy safeguards and whether new systems could limit personal freedoms; the secretary reiterated the position that avoiding a CBDC was an important privacy safeguard and that stablecoins should be regulated to protect Americans.