Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee, opposed the creation of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) during his Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing Thursday.

“I see no reason for the U.S. to have a central bank digital currency,” said Bessent, founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management.

Bessent argued that CBDCs are better suited for nations with fewer investment options.

“In my mind, a central bank digital currency is for countries who have no other investment alternatives. If you hold US dollars, you could hold very secure US assets,” he said.

The Federal Reserve has been examining CBDC possibilities since 2021, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced plans to release a discussion paper on the topic.

Powell indicated that a CBDC would complement existing forms of money rather than replace them. He has also stated that the Federal Reserve will not issue a CBDC without explicit congressional approval.

Bessent, who previously expressed support for crypto, told Fox Business in July that he was “excited about the president’s embrace of crypto.”