U.S. Senator Brian Hughes and U.S. Representative Mark Dorasio have introduced bills 2334 and 4903 proposing the creation of a gold-backed digital currency for the state of Texas.
Identical bills were filed on the same day — March 10.
“Each unit of the issued digital currency represents a defined share of a troy ounce of gold held in a trust,” the bills say.
The documents specify that the trustee will use the proceeds from the sale of the asset to purchase an equivalent amount of precious metal.
“The custodian must hold enough gold to redeem all issued units of the digital currency,” the lawmakers say.
The initiative comes amid criticism of the digital dollar from authorities. In March, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill, prohibiting ФРС from launching a consumer-oriented CBDC.
In April, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of the 35th U.S. president John F. Kennedy, criticized the idea of a digital dollar. In his words, such an asset “blurs the slippery path to financial slavery and political tyranny.”
In January, Texas A&M University announced an educational program dedicated to Bitcoin.