The Digital Dollar Project co-founder believes mass adoption depends on a digital dollar that is free of surveillance tools.

Former CFTC Chairman Christopher J. Giancarlo said a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) that protects privacy and is free of surveillance tools could set a global standard.

According to Giancarlo, co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project and senior counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Digital Works unit, the U.S. digital dollar “would take over the world.”

China, he said, is much further along in developing a CBDC than most other countries in the world. In his opinion, the U.S. can counter China and Europe with a digital currency that is operationally and transparently private. It is especially important at a time when some U.S. lawmakers are trying to keep CBDCs out of the country, which Giancarlo discussed in a recent CoinDesk editorial.

Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis proposed legislation banning the use of a national CBDC. A bill introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a digital currency that is directly available to consumers. He also introduced a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital currency directly to individuals under federal law.

However, Giancarlo understands the lawmakers’ concerns about protecting people’s privacy and autonomy in an internet-based financial system, even though he does not necessarily agree with them. According to him, lawmakers may be apprehensive because they are likely to look at the Chinese model, which has already created a benchmark for a central bank digital currency.