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Digital Currencies Pave Way for Deeply Negative Interest Rates. If people can’t hoard physical money, it becomes much easier to cut rates far below zero
Wall Street Journal ^ | September 8, 2021 | James Mackintosh

Posted on 09/09/2021 7:23:38 AM PDT by karpov

Investors have been ignoring progress toward government-issued electronic money, even as many countries are progressing rapidly toward their own online cash. They should ask two questions: Will the Federal Reserve issue a digital dollar? And will it eventually replace physical bank notes?

I think the answer to both questions is yes, and those who agree should be assessing the impact on future monetary policy already, because dramatic change is likely within the timespan of the 30-year Treasury.

The main monetary power of the digital dollar comes from the abolition of bank notes. If people can’t hoard physical money, it becomes much easier to cut interest rates far below zero; otherwise the zero rate on bank notes stuffed under the mattress looks attractive. And if interest rates can go far below zero, monetary policy is suddenly much more powerful and better suited to tackle deflation.

Before going on, a quick definition: I’m talking here about central bank-issued money usable by you and me, just as bank notes are. It might (or might not) pay interest, but it is different to money in an ordinary bank account, which is created by the commercial bank; the existing central-bank digital money, known as reserves, are used only to settle debts between banks and certain other institutions, not available for ordinary use.

Deeply negative rates won’t come straight away. Initially, central-bank digital currencies will almost certainly be designed to behave as much like ordinary bank notes as possible, to make their adoption easy and minimize disruption, while use of physical cash will be allowed to wither away. But those close to the development agree that monetary caution is unlikely to last.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: digitalcurrency; inflation
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Most of our spending is already digital. We pay utility and credit card bills though electronic funds transfer from a checking account. What the central bankers want to remove is your ability to withdraw cash from your bank and store it, so that they can force you to use "digital money" that they can depreciate at 5% or more per year, PLUS inflation. Screwing savers like that is evil.

If the government tries to impose digital currency that depreciates even in nominal terms, that will make precious metals and cryptocurrencies more attractive.

1 posted on 09/09/2021 7:23:38 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

So now saving for a rainy day is “hoarding”?

The world has gone mad.


2 posted on 09/09/2021 7:25:42 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire. Or both.)
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To: karpov

The answer to that is silver and gold.


3 posted on 09/09/2021 7:28:53 AM PDT by KC_Lion
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To: karpov

Hide your wealth physical items of value like gold, silver, beans, bullets, guns, and land purchase.


4 posted on 09/09/2021 7:29:39 AM PDT by DEPcom (Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules)
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To: karpov

We are getting into “mark of the beast” territory.

He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name

Revelation 13:16-17


5 posted on 09/09/2021 7:29:44 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: karpov

Someone figured out that ‘negative interest’ would be a great way to tax bank deposits.


6 posted on 09/09/2021 7:29:47 AM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: karpov

Cash is already subject to a negative interest rate, due to inflation.

Money kept digitally is a problem only when cash has been eliminated. It will take some time to accomplish that.

The holy grail for these people is to eliminate cash, and take control of ALL digital currency. They they will take what they want from the productive ones, and give it to indolent slobs who vote democrat.


7 posted on 09/09/2021 7:31:21 AM PDT by I want the USA back (There's nothing in the Constitution that allows the government to become fascist. )
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To: karpov

What these people really want is to be able to track and extract their share on every transaction made. It’s all about control.


8 posted on 09/09/2021 7:35:33 AM PDT by servantboy777
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To: karpov

Who is John Galt?


9 posted on 09/09/2021 7:36:35 AM PDT by eyeamok (founded in cynicism, wrapped in sarcasm)
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To: PGR88

And there you go...

The exclusion from commerce without the ‘mark’ (thumb print or retinal ID) has not been possible (still might not be except in theory), but there has to be a universal non-physical ‘currency’ to settle transactions with physical settlement in currency or precious metals a crime...

And any person that loves Jesus that has not gotten an LLC with an identity and credit rating rating of its own [with its own credit cards and bank accounts ;-) ] is not preparing for that type of economy correctly.


10 posted on 09/09/2021 7:40:19 AM PDT by L,TOWM (An upraised middle finger is my virtue signal.)
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To: All

If people can’t hoard physical money, it is much easier to take away all their financial resources with a few keystrokes on a computer keyboard. And to track and record their every purchase.

THAT is the real reason behind the push to ‘digital money’.


11 posted on 09/09/2021 7:45:50 AM PDT by LegendHasIt
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To: karpov
dramatic change is likely within the timespan of the 30-year Treasury.

Dramatic change will come much sooner than that, 10 years at most. Developers are already working on a digital wallet that is similar to a smart phone but without the vulnerability. It would allow physical person-to-person exchange of currency, similar to the tap and go debit card technology.
12 posted on 09/09/2021 7:51:36 AM PDT by neefer (Because you can't starve us out and you can't make us run.)
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To: Mr. K

“Someone figured out that ‘negative interest’ would be a great way to tax bank deposits.”

How’s that.

To me a negative interest rate would mean that I have to pay a bank to store my money rather then them giving me interest.

I could use an explanation.


13 posted on 09/09/2021 7:54:24 AM PDT by cymbeline
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To: BenLurkin

“So now saving for a rainy day is “hoarding”?

The world has gone mad.”

In Nazi Germany savings accounts were not allowed. All money had to be “invested” in the equivalent of war bonds. In China there are no investments and the government can simply take your savings if they want. This has fueled the world’s most insane ever real-estate market as houses are the only hard asset where the Chinese can “invest” their money.

Warren Buffet said about crypto currency. It’s like buying gold. As an investment, it’s poor. It earns nothing. It doesn’t generate revenue. You buy it in the hopes that someone will pay you more for it in the future. As for crypto, the value of a currency relies on the country that backs it. Crypto has no inherent backer so as a fiat currency its only value is for illegal purchases.


14 posted on 09/09/2021 7:55:51 AM PDT by Gen.Blather (W-w-wait a minute. Did I do that?!)
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To: Mr. K

I think we can all see, how negative interest rates will be, in effect, a tax on all of our money.

And if we are all compelled to have our money in digital form, they will have control over all of us, financially.


15 posted on 09/09/2021 8:05:27 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: karpov
CBDCs mostly remain in the hypothetical stage, with some proof-of-concept programmes; however, more than 80% of central banks are looking at digital currencies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank_digital_currency

Centralization: Since most central bank digital currencies are centralized, rather than decentralized like most cryptocurrencies, the controllers of the issuance of CBDC can add or remove money from anyone's account with a flip of a switch. In contrast, cryptocurrencies with a distributed ledger such as Bitcoin prevent this unless a group of users controlling more than 50% of mining power is in agreement.

16 posted on 09/09/2021 8:05:30 AM PDT by Pollard (#*&% Communism)
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To: eyeamok

Where is he?

How long before he leads us out of this morass???


17 posted on 09/09/2021 8:17:57 AM PDT by ridesthemiles ( )
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To: Gen.Blather
its only value is for illegal purchases.

I've used crypto to pay for legitimate items. The only crypto I can think of that fits that description would be Monero. It's considered the crypto currency of drug dealers.

With the exception of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, cryto currencies are judged by their ability to do something, also known as smart contracts. It's what the Ethereum network is all about.

There is a crypto currency called Compound (@ $422 currently). It is a decentralized lending platform that is taking on the function of traditional banks. You can loan your Compound and earn interest. Or you can borrow it to start a business, etc. I could bore you with other examples (Chainlink, VeChain, etc).
18 posted on 09/09/2021 8:21:12 AM PDT by neefer (Because you can't starve us out and you can't make us run.)
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To: neefer

“I’ve used crypto to pay for legitimate items. “

I was merely repeating what one of the world’s most respected investors said. Notice, though, that China has made all but their own crypto currencies illegal to use. I think we’ll see more of that as one of the driver’s for governments to do away with paper money is so they can tax every single use of money. There have been, for example, several attempts to add an additional tax to the income taxes to account for the public’s use of the untaxed economy. (The kid who mows your lawn for cash, as an example.)


19 posted on 09/09/2021 8:34:35 AM PDT by Gen.Blather (W-w-wait a minute. Did I do that?!)
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To: Gen.Blather
Yeah, I've read that about China too. Old school Bitcoiners claim that China has banned Bitcoin before without success.

We're considering moving out of the country in the next few years because of the tax reason you mentioned and hyperinflation. The powers that be in this country are already putting heavy regulations on crypto exchanges. Uncle Sam can have my cold storage crypto from my cold dead hands!
20 posted on 09/09/2021 8:47:10 AM PDT by neefer (Because you can't starve us out and you can't make us run.)
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