LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 4, 2023) – Yesterday, the Arkansas House unanimously passed a bill that would prohibit tracking an Individual through the use of digital currency without a warrant in most cases.
Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R) and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R) introduced House Bill 1720 (HB1720) on March 27. The legislation would prohibit using a “digital currency tracker” to track an individual’s purchases or location through the use by an individual of digital currency without a warrant or unless the individual consents to the tracking. The bill explicitly states that digital currency includes central bank digital currency (CBDC).
On April 3, the House passed HB1720 by a 96-0 vote.
Central bank digital currency allows the tracking of transactions by its very nature and the bill wouldn’t stop federal authorities from tracking purchases. But it would stop state and local government authorities from using CBDC (or any other digital currency) to obtain information about an individual without a warrant. It would also effectively block state and local cooperation with federal authorities trying to obtain financial information about individuals in Arkansas using digital currency tracking.
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES (CBDC)
Digital currencies exist as virtual banknotes or coins held in a digital wallet on your computer or smartphone. The difference between a central bank (government) digital currency and peer-to-peer electronic cash such as bitcoin is that the value of the digital currency is backed and controlled by the government, just like traditional fiat currency.
Government-issued digital currencies are sold on the promise of providing a safe, convenient, and more secure alternative to physical cash. Weโre also told it will help stop dangerous criminals who like the intractability of cash. But there is a darker side โ the promise of control.
At the root of the move toward government digital currency is โthe war on cash.โ The elimination of cash creates the potential for the government to track and even control consumer spending.
Imagine if there was no cash. It would be impossible to hide even the smallest transaction from the governmentโs eyes. Something as simple as your morning trip to Starbucks wouldnโt be a secret from government officials. Asย Bloombergย put itย in an article published when China launched a digital yuan pilot program in 2020, digital currency โoffers Chinaโs authorities a degree of control never possible with physical money.โ
The government could even โturn offโ an individualโs ability to make purchases.ย Bloombergย described just how much control a digital currency could give Chinese officials.
The PBOC has also indicated that it could put limits on the sizes of some transactions, or even require an appointment to make large ones. Some observers wonder whether payments could be linked to the emerging social-credit system, wherein citizens with exemplary behavior are โwhitelistedโ for privileges, while those with criminal and other infractions find themselves left out. โChinaโs goal is not to make payments more convenient but to replace cash, so it can keep closer tabs on people than it already does,โ argues Aaron Brown, a crypto investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion.โ
Economist Thorsten Polleit outlined the potential for Big Brother-like government control with the advent of a digital euro inย an article published by the Mises Wire. As he put it, โthe path to becoming a surveillance state regime will accelerate considerablyโ if and when a digital currency is issued.
In 2022, the Federal Reserve released a โdiscussion paperโ examining the pros and cons of a potential US central bank digital dollar. According toย the central bankโs website, there has been no decision on implementing a digital currency, but this pilot program reveals the idea is further along than most people realized.
WHATโS NEXT
HB1720 now moves to the Senate for further consideration. It was referred to the Senate insurance and Commerce Committee where it must get a hearing and pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
- Ignorance and Freedom Cannot Coexist - March 19, 2026
- The Federal Government is Not the Boss - March 8, 2026
- One Step is a Step Too Far - February 28, 2026