North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would have banned a central bank digital currency issued by the Federal Reserve from being introduced in the state, despite near-unanimous support in the House and Senate.
Cooper has faced criticism for making politically motivated decisions. explanation In a June 5 statement, he said House Bill 690 cannot be signed into law because it is “premature, vague and reactionary.”
“Efforts are underway at the federal level to ensure standards and safeguards are in place to protect consumers, investors and businesses. [using] Digital assets and the state of North Carolina should wait to see how it works before taking any action.”
Governor Cooper’s veto followed overwhelming votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate in late June.
Given the near-unanimous vote, North Carolina lawmakers will likely have a three-fifths majority in both houses to easily override Gov. Cooper’s veto.
Cooper’s veto decision was unpopular.
“Governor Cooper’s veto did not reflect the wishes of the people of North Carolina,” Mitchell Askew, principal analyst at Blockware Solutions and a North Carolina native, explained to Cointelegraph.
Askew said it was disappointing that Cooper “was not willing to put partisan politics aside” to support legislation that benefits all North Carolinians.
“He vetoed it because his opponent, Mark Robinson, supports the bill. It’s pretty clear who the pro-Bitcoin, pro-freedom candidate is.”
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Similarly, Dan Sparrer, head of industry affairs at the Blockchain Association, said: Said Governor Cooper’s veto represents a missed opportunity to send a clear message that North Carolina is firmly opposed to a CBDC.
“[Digital asset] Policies must be in the hands of the American people to ensure that any development of digital currency reflects our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness.”
However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in March that the U.S. is “a long way from encouraging, much less adopting, any form of central bank digital currency.”
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