# Plain Language Summary: Chinese CBDC Prohibition Act of 2023

This bill would ban money services businesses in the United States from handling transactions involving China's digital currency. China's central bank has been developing what's called a "central bank digital currency" (CBDC)—essentially a digital version of Chinese money that exists only electronically. The bill targets any company that moves money around for customers, including money transfer services, cryptocurrency exchanges, payment processors, and similar financial businesses. If this bill became law, these companies couldn't process any transactions using China's digital currency, whether directly or indirectly.

The main concern behind this bill is surveillance and control. According to the bill's findings, China's digital currency would allow the Chinese government to see every single transaction in real time—who paid whom and for what. This is different from how U.S. digital payments work, where transactions are more private. The bill's supporters worry that China could use this technology to monitor its citizens more closely and enforce its "social credit" system, which punishes people for various behaviors. There's also concern that China could use its digital currency to get around international sanctions, similar to how other countries try to evade economic penalties.

The practical effect of this bill would be relatively narrow. Most Americans wouldn't directly notice anything because the bill only affects money services businesses, not regular banks or individual people. However, if you use a money transfer service or cryptocurrency exchange and they handle any transactions involving China's digital currency, those specific transactions would become illegal. The bill doesn't prevent Americans from using regular Chinese currency or doing normal business with China—it only targets this specific new digital currency system.

Chinese CBDC Prohibition Act of 2023

Luetkemeyer, Blaine

Chinese CBDC Prohibition Act of 2023 This bill prohibits money services businesses (e.g., currency exchange providers or money order issuers) from engaging in transactions involving a central bank digital currency issued by China. Central bank digital currencies are digital currencies issued by a government-backed central bank.