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September 5, 2025 18 mins

CBDCs are back in the spotlight as the US Congress returns from recess. Lawmakers have tucked a ban on the digital dollar into the must-pass defense bill, framing it as a fight over privacy and surveillance. But is a CBDC really an imminent threat or just a political talking point?

In this episode of Byte-Sized Insight, host Savannah Fortis sits down with Sheila Warren, CEO of the Project Liberty Institute, to cut through the noise. From wholesale vs retail CBDCs to how other governments are moving ahead, Sheila explains where the US stands and whether stablecoins may already be filling the gap.

[0:00] Intro: Congress back, CBDC debate heats up
[3:07] Anti-CBDC bill and NDAA provision explained
[5:20] Sheila on US vs global CBDC progress
[8:08] Privacy concerns are design choices
[10:33] Wholesale vs retail CBDCs
[12:32] Why retail CBDCs aren’t realistic in the US
[14:31] Stablecoins as “jet fuel” of the digital economy
[15:45] Political fight: Banks vs crypto over rails
[16:41] Real privacy risks beyond CBDCs
[27:50] A future “Fed-adjacent” product?

This episode was hosted and produced by Savannah Fortis, @savannah_fortis.

This episode is brought to you by Coinlocally — the platform that brings crypto and forex together under one roof. Trade Convert, Spot, Futures, Grid Bots, Copy Trading, and MT5 in a single secure app, with some of the lowest fees in the industry. Cointelegraph podcast listeners get an exclusive $100 trading bonus at coinlocally.com by using the code CT0001.

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