US President Joe Biden is planning a new digital currency

It should go without saying that the press should be paying close attention when the White House reveals it is working on a plan to change a vital part of the US economy with "maximum urgency." More importantly, the media should cheerfully and thoroughly inform the public of the potential risks of such a proposition. Unfortunately, this isn't the situation right now, and the ramifications of the media's apathy could last decades.

On March 9, the Biden administration issued an executive order (EO) requesting that a wide range of federal agencies explore digital assets and submit a number of studies and regulatory proposals. The executive order devotes a significant amount of time to discussing cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum, which are based on blockchain technology and have gained in popularity among investors and consumers in recent years.

However, there is one portion of the EO that is perhaps more important: President Biden has authorized the federal government and the Federal Reserve to lay the groundwork for a potential new US currency, the digital dollar. If the US adopts a digital currency like the one indicated in Biden's executive order, it will be one of the most dramatic extensions of federal power ever, placing people's social and economic liberty in jeopardy.

Several government departments, including the Treasury Department, have been asked to investigate the development of a new central bank digital currency (CBDC) and issue a report explaining the potential dangers and benefits of a digital dollar within 180 days of the EO, among other things. The order also directs the Treasury Department, Attorney General's Office, and Federal Reserve to collaborate within 210 days, or roughly seven months, on a "legislative plan" to construct a digital currency.

A digital dollar would not only be a digital copy of the existing US dollar, but also a completely new currency that would coexist with it, at least initially. The CBDC, like money, would be used to pay for goods and services and would most likely be managed by the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. Cryptocurrencies are based on decentralized blockchain technology. No organization or individual can truly control cryptocurrencies once they are introduced.

Digital dollars, on the other hand, are programmable and traceable. Depending on how the legislation establishing the currency is written, the Federal Reserve (or another designated organization) would be able to issue new digital dollars anytime it saw fit, and the dollars may be constructed with various limitations and constraints included in their architecture. There are various reasons to suspect that Biden's proposal for a digital currency includes a design that allows the federal government and/or the Federal Reserve control over large swaths of society and the economy.

The CBDC, as well as other policies controlling digital assets, must prevent "climate change and pollution" and promote "financial inclusion and equity," according to Biden's executive order.