Tag Archives: Central bank digital currencies

Doug Casey’s #1 Speculation for 2023

Posted on December 28, 2022 | Leave a comment

Doug Casey likes gold and uranium. From Casey at internationalman.com:

Doug Casey #1 Speculation

International Man: Will 2023 be the year of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)? Or will this terrible idea be consigned to the dustbin of history?

Doug Casey: CBDCs are a disastrous idea. But that’s never stopped “the elite” in the past. First, they did zero interest rates and negative interest rates, which I thought was metaphysically impossible. But they did it. Then they went to massive “quantitative easing,” a dishonest euphemism for money printing.

The next thing is going to be Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which will give them unprecedented control over the finances of the average person.

On the one hand, it should be cause for a revolution because it will actually turn people into serfs. But on the other hand, the average American has almost no understanding of economics. He has little grip on what’s going on and believes propaganda.

We’re going to get CBDCs in 2023, and this is one of the scariest things on the horizon.

International Man: Will 2023 be the year uranium really takes off?

Doug Casey: Let’s recall the last uranium boom, which we were fortunate enough to catch back in 2001 to 2007. Uranium ran from $10 a pound up to $140 a pound. And that was in the days when the Russians and the Americans still had large nuclear weapon stockpiles, from which they recaptured lots of U-235 for use in reactors. That’s gone.

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Global central banks racing to implement digital currencies as cities convert to ‘smart’ infrastructure: Track and control grid being erected right under our noses, by Leo Hohmann

Posted on December 11, 2022 | Leave a comment

Whenever they say they’re doing some planned “improvement” for us, they’re doing it for them. Their power, their control. From Leo Hohmann at leohohmann.com:

The Central Bank of Nigeria announced it will begin, effective in January, restricting cash withdrawals from banks and ATMs to just $45 per day as part of a push to move the country toward a cashless economy. 

If this were a one-off, I wouldn’t bother writing about it. But it comes on the heels of mega-banks announcing similarly creepy new policies in recent months in China, India, Russia, Brazil, Sweden, the U.S. and many other nations, all pointing to an imminent switch over to a global digital money system.

In the U.S., the Federal Reserve put out an announcement in November that it is launching a 12-week “pilot program” to test out a new central bank digital currency, or CBDC, with six major banks.

Thursday’s announcement in Nigeria is also a big deal because Nigeria is one of only nine countries that have already launched an official CBDC. That happened earlier this year, and now they are already moving to restrict the use of cash. This proves that digital currencies were never designed to function alongside paper currencies but rather to replace them.

Fox News reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria will limit weekly cash withdrawals to 100,000 naira ($225) for individuals and 500,000 naira ($1,124) for corporations, with a processing fee required to access more. 

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Digital Currency: The Fed Moves toward Monetary Totalitarianism, by André Marques

Posted on December 11, 2022 | Leave a comment

Like the Covid response, digital currencies have nothing to do with their ostensibly cited justifications and everything to do with power and totalitarian control. From André Marques at mises.org:

The Federal Reserve is sowing the seeds for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). It may seem that the purpose of a CBDC is to facilitate transactions and enhance economic activity, but CBDCs are mainly about more government control over individuals. If a CBDC were implemented, the central bank would have access to all transactions in addition to being capable of freezing accounts.

It may seem dystopian—something that only totalitarian governments would do—but there have been recent cases of asset freezing in Canada and Brazil. Moreover, a CBDC would give the government the power to determine how much a person can spend, establish expiration dates for deposits, and even penalize people who saved money.

The war on cash is also a reason why governments want to implement CBDCs. The end of cash would mean less privacy for individuals and would allow central banks to maintain a monetary policy of negative interest rates with greater ease (since individuals would be unable to withdraw money commercial banks to avoid losses).

Once the CBDC arrives, instead of a deposit being a commercial bank’s liability, a deposit would be the central bank’s liability.

In 2020, China launched a digital yuan pilot program. As mentioned by Seeking Alpha, China wants to implement a CBDC because “this would give [the government] a remarkable amount of information about what consumers are spending their money on.”

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From Covid to CBDC: The Path to Full Control, by Josh Stylman

Posted on December 6, 2022 | 1 comment

Central bank digital currency is a social engineer’s dream and most everyone else’s nightmare. From Josh Stylman at brownstone.org:

 
Covid CBDC control

It’s seemed evident for a while that the current fiat monetary system is, at best, unstable. At worst, it’s a Ponzi scheme whose time has expired. If that’s the case, I suspect the central bankers and 0.1% know this and might be prepared to usher in the new system before the old one collapses on itself – even as they loot it on the way down with the most significant wealth transfer in human history. 

To anyone who pays attention to these trends, it seems evident that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be that new system.

Every indication is that CBDC’s arrival is imminent. Yesterday, several global banks announced a partnership with the NY Federal Reserve to pilot digital dollars. Given the ubiquity of credit/debit cards, payment apps, and other online payment systems, digital money has been bound to happen for some time. The risk isn’t the electronic part, that’s inevitable – it’s the fact that a central bank will oversee the digital currency.

From my vantage point, it’s impossible to overstate the risk presented by CBDC. Whether it’s a utopian vision based on good intentions or a sinister plot to crush our sovereignty, the result may be the same: control. A Central Bank Digital Currency has all the downsides of fiat money, plus the added layers of surveillance and programmability overseen by the state. 

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An Invisible Prison Has Been Built Just for You, by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Posted on December 5, 2022 | 1 comment

The technology for the digital Panopticon is being rolled out. From Dr. Joseph Mercola at theburningplatform.com:

Story at-a-glance

  • An international vaccine passport, digital identity, a social credit system and a central bank digital currency (CBDC) form a digital control system that will lock down the population in perpetuity
  • Facial recognition is an essential part of the control structure, as it’s the “password” to your digital identity
  • By the end of 2022, there will be 1 billion data collecting surveillance cameras in the world, all connected to the internet and artificial intelligence (AI). Cameras and audio recording devices in cell phones, automobiles and smart appliances also collect and share data
  • All these data are then used to give each person an individual score, based on their behavior, expression and interaction with the world. Ultimately, your social credit score, will dictate what you can and cannot do, what you can buy and where you can go
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) is an absolutely crucial component, without which the control system cannot work. The easiest way to push against this system is to starve AI of data by refusing to use technologies that collect and share your personal data

In the video above, Maria Zeee with ZeeeMedia interviews computer scientist Aman Jabbi about the coming international vaccine passport, digital identity, the social credit system being built in the West, and central bank digital currency (CBDC).

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Banking Elites Are Using Crypto Bloodbath And FTX Fraud To Justify CBDCs, by Tyler Durden

Posted on December 1, 2022 | Leave a comment

Scandal has always been a good excuse for new laws, regulations, and other restrictions on liberty. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:

Central bankers and international corporate financiers have long been pretending to hate the very concept of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium while at the same time investing heavily in blockchain technologies and infrastructure.  The purpose of the ruse is not clear, but more than likely it was an attempt at mass reverse psychology – “We don’t like crypto and digital currencies because we supposedly have no control over them; free market proponents should embrace them blindly because that is how you will beat us.”

In the meantime, while major banking firms are investing billions into various blockchain products, central banks and global institutions like the BIS and IMF have been developing their own systems.  In fact, the BIS notes with enthusiasm that around 90% of central banks around the world are already in the process of adopting CBDCs. 

But why would anyone want to use government and establishment bank controlled cryptocurrencies when they have access to Bitcoin and dozens of other coins that are supposedly independent?  Why trade freedom for more centralization?

First, existing cryptocurrencies are not as free as many people believe, with ample government tracking of blockchain transactions in place for years, the notion of the completely anonymous crypto user is a bit of a fantasy, and the idea that a product such as Bitcoin is going to “bring down” the central banks is becoming less realistic by the year. 

Second, the crypto market is highly unstable in part because it is still very limited.  While crypto use in America is higher than most other countries with around 12% of people using it as an investment (not as a currency), the rest of the world is mostly uninterested with an estimated global footprint of around 4%.  Of that 4% only a handful of people actually own the majority of the market; these people are known as “whales” and they have the ability to tip the market up or down with little effort.  

This happens in many other trade commodities and paper currencies also.  The point is, crypto is not immune to manipulation.   

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Cashless Society Talk Goes Mainstream in a Hurry and Should Be Trusted Like the NSA, by David Haggith

Posted on November 28, 2022 | 1 comment

Central bank digital currencies will allow governments to track every transaction, put conditions on the use of money and take it away for noncompliance with certain “social norms,” and in every way allow for the control of the citizenry. From David Haggith at thegreatrecession.info/blog:

We’re on the brink of a dramatic change where we’re about to — and I’ll say this boldly — we’re about to abandon the traditional system of money, and accounting, and introduce a new one…. The new accounting is what we call “blockchain.” It means digital. It means having an almost perfect record of every single transaction that happens in the economy, which will give us far greater clarity over what’s going on…. It also raises huge dangers in terms of the balance of power between states and citizens.

(from the following video)

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Posted in Banking, Business, Civil Liberties, Collapse, Currencies, Debt, Governments, Tyranny

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Fedcoin: It Starts With A Trial Run

Posted on November 20, 2022 | Leave a comment

The trial run with Fedcoin is like those simulations before Covid hit. Central bank digital currencies are coming whether anyone wants them or not. From Robert Aro at mises.org:

A cashless society would be the nail in the coffin for liberty and freedom, offering centralization, the likes of which Marx could only dream. The existence of a government backdoor or spyware becomes a real possibility, and given the State’s track record, a real likelihood. Then, of course, the ability to track, freeze, and even set expiry dates on money, will be marketed as “features” to protect the public.

As for the 5.9 million Americans considered “unbanked,” i.e., those who have no checking or savings accounts, (the poor, weak, and vulnerable) they can expect life to get more difficult. This is the price we pay for free market intervention.

Earlier in the week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York made the announcement:

Members of the U.S. Banking Community Launch Proof of Concept For A Regulated Digital Asset Settlement Platform

The explanation may only make sense for those well versed in crypto technology:

Members of the U.S. banking community today announced the launch of a proof of concept (PoC) project that will explore the feasibility of an interoperable digital money platform known as the regulated liability network (RLN). Using distributed ledger technology, the proposed platform would create innovation opportunities to improve financial settlements and would include participation from central banks, commercial banks of various sizes and regulated non-banks.

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CBDC: How Covid Became the Path to Global Financial Surveillance, by Joshua Stylman

Posted on November 19, 2022 | 2 comments

There are many interconnected paths to complete global tyranny. From Joshua Stylman at dailyskeptic.org:

To anyone who pays attention to these trends, it seems evident that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be that new system.

Every indication is that CBDC’s arrival is imminent. On Tuesday, several global banks announced a partnership with the New York Federal Reserve to pilot digital dollars. Given the ubiquity of credit and debit cards, payment apps and other online payment systems, digital money has been bound to happen for some time. The risk isn’t the electronic part, that’s inevitable – it’s the fact that a central bank will oversee the digital currency.

From my vantage point, it’s impossible to overstate the risk presented by CBDC. Whether it’s a utopian vision based on good intentions or a sinister plot to crush our sovereignty, the result may be the same: control. A Central Bank Digital Currency has all the downsides of fiat money, plus the added layers of surveillance and programmability overseen by the state.

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Another Big CBDC Flop… Here’s What Really Comes Next (Hint: It’s Not What the Elites Hoped For), by Nick Giambruno

Posted on November 2, 2022 | 1 comment

People are shunning central bank cryptocurrencies and flocking to the private alternatives. From Nick Giambruno at internationalman.com:

CBDC Flop

Last year, Nigeria launched its much-ballyhooed eNaira, Africa’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Central bankers, academics, politicians, and an assortment of elites from over 100 countries hoping to launch their own CBDCs have closely followed the eNaira.

They used Nigeria—Africa’s largest country by population and size of its economy—as a Petri dish to test their nefarious plans to use CBDCs to enslave the people of North America, Europe, and beyond.

The jury is now in.

The eNaira has been a massive failure.

According to Bloomberg, only 1 in 200 Nigerians use the eNaira. That’s even after the government implemented discounts and other incentives as desperate measures to increase adoption.

This came as a surprise to the elites.

Nigeria has one of the highest Bitcoin adoption rates in the world—ranking #11 among all countries.

Bitcoin’s ability to bypass the government’s capital controls—which restrict the use of foreign currencies and sending and receiving money from abroad—was a big draw for Nigerians, as it is in other countries with these repressive policies.

A long history of rampant currency debasement in Nigeria—including six devaluations in recent years—also helped spur the adoption of Bitcoin, which is totally resistant to inflation.

In short, the elites have miscalculated. They figured Nigerians wouldn’t be able to differentiate between Bitcoin and the eNaira—they are both digital currencies, after all.

The Bloomberg article admitted, “Nigerians’ passion for cryptocurrencies doesn’t extend to the central bank offering.”

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