We saw the warning signs last year with the passage of the Money Transmission Modernization Act which redefined “money” in our law to include currency adopted by foreign governments and even currency agreed upon by two or more international governments. You can thank Senator Jack Johnson for that one.
Now we are contending with SB479 / HB640 which would adopt the 2022 UCC Amendments creating regulations for digital currencies and the introduction of “controllable electronic records” into Tennessee law. The Uniform Law Commission is working to push these regulations throughout all 50 states. So far, only 11 states have adopted these amendments. And states like Texas and Florida are NOT on that list.
But it seems that Tennessee is always looking to “lead the nation.” So, why not lead the nation in creating pathways to adopting a central bank digital currency in our state? That makes sense, right? While these UCC amendments, of course, do not “create” a currency, they set the regulatory scheme for the use and transaction of such a currency.
We oppose this bill and any measure that would create regulatory schemes for digital transactions such as CBDC.
