Cryptocurrency: US HR7231 Proffers "Private Anonymous ECASH and HW"

[grarpamp]

And thus it began...

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/03/28/us-lawmakers-introduce-ecash-bill-in-new-push-to-create-a-digital-dollar/
https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/28/us_digital_dollar/

https://lynch.house.gov/2022/3/rep-lynch-introduces-legislation-to-develop-electronic-version-of-u-s-dollar
https://lynch.house.gov/_cache/files/5/0/500162f9-7fce-4981-b9b9-16bf22e10ede/83EE032381B9431A65DE22B213D3A10E.rep.-lynch-ecash-act-fact-sheet.pdf
https://lynch.house.gov/_cache/files/1/7/17e47e5a-2bff-42c1-b509-eb8a50931fa6/BDDFF183213326821B5C88B7F326EABB.ecashact-lynch.pdf

H.R. 7231, the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act

SUMMARY
In view of the continued expansion of digital payment and currency
technologies and in line with
efforts undertaken by the Federal Reserve and Biden Administration to
explore diverse digital
dollar designs and deployment options, the Electronic Currency and
Secure Hardware
(ECASH) Act directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop and issue
an electronic version of
the U.S. Dollar (e-cash) for use by the American public.
·   To maximize consumer protection and data privacy, this innovative
legislation requires
    Treasury to incorporate key security and functionality safeguards
into the e-cash system that
    are generally associated with the use of physical currency ­
including anonymity, privacy,
    and minimal generation of data from transactions.
·   In the interest of greater financial inclusion, the bill mandates
that e-cash must be
    interoperable with existing financial institution and payment
provider systems, capable of
    executing peer-to-peer offline transactions and distributed
directly to the public via secured
    hardware devices.
·   To safeguard e-cash against illicit financial activities, the bill
requires e-cash compliance
    with existing anti-money laundering and countering terrorist
finance regimes.

ELECTRONIC CURRENCY INNOVATION PROGRAM
· Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Electronic
Currency Innovation
  Program to direct, oversee, and coordinate the development and
implementation of e-cash
  and enabling architecture, technologies, and platforms.
· Treasury is fully suited to lead e-cash development given that the
agency already produces
  hard currency and successfully implements the U.S. Debit Card
Program ­ including the
  Economic Impact Payment prepaid debit cards issued to Americans
under the CARES Act.
· The director of the ECIP is appointed by the President, with the
advice and consent of the
  Senate, for a 5-year term.

PILOT PROGRAM
·  Requires Treasury to initiate a two-phase e-cash pilot program
within 90 days of enactment
   ­ with the deployment of e-cash to the American public expected no
later than 48 months
   after enactment.
·  Phase 1: Consists of at least three "Proof-of-Concept" pilot
programs designed to determine
   the initial feasibility of e-cash design and deployment. These
pilots may be conducted in
   partnership with universities, non-profit organizations, insured
financial institutions, financial
   technology firms, non-bank payment providers focused on expanding
financial inclusion, and
   other entities. They may also be conducted in partnership with
existing federal, state, or local
   government fund disbursement or payment program ­ including those
that rely on the U.S.
   Debit Card Program. At least two of the technologies selected for
the pilot program must be
   based on secured hardware-based architectures that do not involve
any common or
   distributed ledger, at least one must include a stored-value
magnetic or pin card option for
   storage and payment, and at least one must include a cell phone or
SIM card option for
   storage and payment.
·  Phase 2: Consists of at least one large-scale "Field Test" pilot
program deployment to a
   segment of the American public. These pilots may be conducted in
partnership with federal,
   state, local, and foreign governments, international regulatory
bodies, and the entities eligible
   to partner in Phase 1.
·  Objectives: The general purpose of the pilot programs is to assess
the viability and capacity
   of various e-cash technologies to incorporate the security and
functionality safeguards that
   are generally associated with the use of physical currency; deploy
rapidly and efficiently; and
   maintain compatibility with existing financial institution and
payment provider systems.

ELECTRONIC DOLLAR
The bill mandates several e-cash features, e.g.,:
·  Legal Tender: E-cash must be legal tender, created and issued into
circulation by Treasury,
   and payable to bearer.
·  Financial Inclusion: E-cash must be distributed and used directly
by the American public
   via widely available hardware devices. It must also be capable of
peer-to-peer, offline
   transactions and interoperable with all existing financial
institution and payment provider
   systems. Moreover, in developing e-cash, the Security must
priorities technologies that
   promote universal access and usability ­ particularly as relating
to individuals with
   disabilities, low-income individuals, and communities with limited
access to internet or
   telecommunications networks.
·  Privacy: E-cash must incorporate key security and functionality
safeguards that are generally
   associated with the use of physical currency ­ including anonymity,
privacy, and minimal
  generation of data from transactions. E-cash must also be
distributed through secure
  hardware devices that are secured locally via cryptographic
encryption or other similar
  technologies and cannot contain personal identifiable information or
be subject to
  surveillance, transactional data collection, or censorship-enabling
features. Establishes a
  "Monetary Privacy Board" which will review decisions and actions of
the ECIP and ensure
  that the actions are consistent with the Act and commit to
preserving the privacy interest of
  individuals that use e-cash. Moreover, establishes a Monetary
Privacy Board to review e-
  cash development actions and decisions and evaluate the extent to
which they preserve
  individual privacy.
· Consumer Protection: Merchants may not impose any fee for using
e-cash payments or
  purchases. Disclosures by the government and any third-party
authorized to distribute e-cash
  devices regarding usage, fees, interoperability, security, privacy,
data collection, and other
  areas identified as relevant by the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection must be clear,
  readily understandable, and made in writing.
· AML/CTF: E-cash must be classified and regulated in a manner similar
to physical currency
  and would therefore be subject to existing anti-money laundering,
counterterrorism, Know
  Your Customer, and financial transaction reporting requirements and
regulations.
· Transparency/Oversight: In developing e-cash, Treasury must
prioritize the use of
  hardware and software technologies issued under open-source
licenses. Also establishes a
  Digital Dollar Council within Treasury to coordinate with other
relevant U.S. departments
  and agencies on e-cash related activities.