“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."
The White House published a "comprehensive framework" on Friday attacking decentralized cryptocurrencies while promoting a U.S. government-controlled programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), per an
official press release.
Agencies that were chosen to lead the ongoing working group for the research and possible development of a CBDC include the Federal Reserve, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Treasury Department.
CBDCs are digital currency 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 — decentralization, 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 percent 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.
“These central bankers will be able to see what is in your bank account, who you transact with, what you purchase, and anything else they are curious about in your financial life,” he wrote.
“That full transparency with the state removes all elements of privacy, while also giving the institutions the ability to censor any and all transactions, regardless of whether they have a legitimate reason or not.”
For example, China’s Digital Yuan can be programmed to be activated on a certain date, programmed to expire on a certain date, programmed to be only valid for certain purchases, and ominously, programmed to be only available to citizens who meet certain pre-conditions.
Central banks can thus influence and control the behavior of the recipients of this centralized digital currency, as well as exclude those who they want to penalize from participating in the financial system.
These CBDCs would be linked to Digital IDs, which would be linked to vaccine passports, carbon footprints, and a social credit system similar to the one being implemented in China.