Bessent: No CBDC — 'First Step Toward Tracking'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly reaffirmed the administration's opposition to a Central Bank Digital Currency on Tuesday, delivering one of the clearest statements yet from a senior official on the issue. "There will be no Central Bank Digital Currency, which I think would be the first step toward tracking," Bessent said.

The framing is significant: Bessent isn't just citing policy preference — he's anchoring the rejection in a civil liberties argument, positioning CBDC as a surveillance instrument rather than a monetary tool. That language is likely to resonate with both the crypto-native community and the broader libertarian-leaning wing of the Republican coalition.

For digital asset markets, the statement is a double-edged signal.