China’s Digital Yuan Targeted in New Bill From 9 GOP Senators

The Say No to the Silk Road Act stems from not only the well-known privacy concerns around the Chinese CBDC, but also from worries it could be a tool to evade sanctions.

By Cheyenne Ligon

Mar 10, 2022 at 9:39 p.m. UTC

Updated Mar 10, 2022 at 10:18 p.m. UTC

U.S. Capitol Building (uschools/Getty Images)

Cheyenne Ligon

Cheyenne Ligon is a CoinDesk news reporter with a focus on crypto regulation and policy. She has no significant crypto holdings.

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Led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), nine Republican U.S. Senators have introduced a bill aimed at setting regulations and guidelines concerning China's digital yuan.

“If left unchecked, technologies including China’s Digital Yuan will empower Russia to evade global sanctions on systems such as SWIFT and enable the CCP to further surveil and threaten their citizens,” said Sen. Blackburn in a press release. “This bill holds China accountable as they introduce their new digital currency,” said Sen. Cassidy.
The Say No to the Silk Road Act would – among other things – require the State Department to issue a warning on the digital yuan, require the Secretary of Commerce to report on trade enforcement actions and require that any foreign government that receives financial assistance through the U.S. military disclose if they use China's central bank digital currency (CBDC) in either a settlement or reserve currency capacity.
Seven other Republican senators – Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) – have already signed on.

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