PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 28, 2022
Electronic Currency And Secure Hardware Act or the ECASH Act
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to support the development of an electronic dollar.
The electronic dollar must be
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payable to the bearer;
considered legal tender;
an obligation of the United States;
placed into circulation by Treasury;
able to be directly used by the public; and
capable of instantaneous, offline transactions using hardware devices not involving a third-party intermediary.
The bill also provides for privacy requirements applicable to any hardware device used for electronic dollar transactions.
Merchants who accept physical currency and the federal government must accept electronic dollars as a form of payment.
The bill also establishes
the Electronic Currency Innovation Program to direct the development and implementation of electronic currency,
the Digital Dollar Council to coordinate Treasury's activities with other government entities, and
the Monetary Privacy Board to review and evaluate the electronic dollar program.
Finally, the bill provides for the establishment of a Treasury Electronic Currency Innovation Fund Account to carry out related programs.
People & committees
Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] · D–MA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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