“If you can move every human into a digital concentration camp, empty their bank account any time you want, and tell them what they can and cannot spend money on, you’ve got complete control.” – Catherine Austin Fitts
Central bank digital currencies (“CBDCs”) are digital currencies issued directly from a nation-state’s central bank and serve as legal tender.
Critically, CBDCs are controlled by governments and therefore represent the polar opposite of the ideas – decentralisation, open-source software, permissionless, peer-to-peer transactions – that made Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such a revolutionary technology.
As you can guess, CBDCs will be tied to user identities and Digital IDs, which will allow for total surveillance by the State and eliminate any chance of financial privacy.
According to the Atlantic Council’s Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker, 112 countries, representing over 95 per cent of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC.
11 countries have already launched a digital currency including Nigeria and numerous Caribbean nations.
14 countries are testing pilot programs including South Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and China which is set to expand its use of the Digital Yuan in 2023.
Read More: Central Bank Digital Currencies are the Next Frontier in the Battle for Freedom
