Posted on 09/13/2022 8:04:55 AM PDT by Heartlander
The widespread embrace of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has left many government bureaucrats feeling left out. In a bid to get in on the action, many governments have floated the idea of a “central bank digital currency,” (CBDC) aka a government-issued cryptocurrency using blockchain technology. President Biden directed the federal government to explore this idea, and new reporting suggests the Biden Administration may soon press forward with efforts to create a so-called “digital dollar.”
“The U.S. Treasury Department will advise the federal government to press forward on work to issue a digital dollar, though it should only take the final step if there’s sign-off that the government-created tokens are in the ‘national interest,’” CoinDesk reports. “The question of national interest will depend on further approval of the Biden administration and – potentially – action by Congress.”
At first glance, government getting in on the crypto craze might sound fun, novel, or harmless. But it’s actually cause for serious alarm. A central bank digital currency would have none of the benefits of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin—and serious drawbacks.
Any digital currency that uses blockchain technology can technically be called a “cryptocurrency.” But, as Bitcoin influencer and content creator Layah Heilpern has aptly explained, Bitcoin has unique properties that make it valuable. Namely, it is both permissionless—anyone can use it and can use it how they want—and decentralized, meaning there’s no central authority that can control the currency.
VIDEO: What Is A Central Bank Digital Currency?
This latter part is especially important. Because no one can increase the supply of Bitcoin beyond its predetermined mining schedule, no one can arbitrarily erode its value like the US government has done with the dollar through money-printing.
However, a central bank digital currency would be neither permissionless nor decentralized. So, most of the benefits that a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin offers (and the value that comes with them) wouldn’t be on the table.
Of course, if a “digital dollar” was just kinda useless, that wouldn’t be the end of the world. But it’s much worse than that. While a central bank digital currency would offer none of the benefits of Bitcoin, it would offer governments new, unprecedented ways to control citizens. To call the idea rife for abuse is an extreme understatement.
After all, a central bank digital currency would allow the government to track your every purchase. It could also be easily used to restrict purchases.
For example, imagine a future government deciding that gasoline must be rationed in order to address climate change. Your “digital dollars” could be made to stop working at the gas pump once you’ve purchased a certain amount of gasoline in a week. In this way, a central bank digital currency would open up new avenues for the government to assert control over our everyday lives. It would make our wealth and incomes less truly our own.
If any of this sounds extreme, fantastical, or otherwise far-fetched… well, just look at China.
So, when the Biden administration publishes its report and advocates for the creation of a digital dollar, the public shouldn’t treat the idea merely with intrigue or disinterest. We need to speak out and oppose this idea—or we may well live to regret it.
"Transaction not permitted"
If government bureaucrats feel the need to have digital currency, they should reach deep into their own pockets and buy Bitcoin or one of many crypto currencies. Hands off my hard earned savings.
We all know where the world 🌎🌍 will eventually go with this:
Revelation 13:16-18
King James Version
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A16-18&version=KJV
Revelation 14:9-12
King James Version
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+14%3A9-12&version=KJV
But, it worked out great for bitcoin! (/S)
If only we let “the right people” handle it I’m sure it would be fine.
All of our financial transactions will be in a database somewhere. Many already are, for those of us who use credit cards and debit cards for many purchases. That trend will accelerate.
There is much truth to this article, but much to be wary of.
I’m wary of BTC.
Any crypto going forward should be ISO 20022 compliant. BTC is NOT.
Some examples of ISO-compliance:
IOTA.
Hedera.
Quant.
Algorand.
XDC.
Ripple (XRP)
Stellar.
IMHO, BTC days are numbered. There are many good innocent people who own BTC, trade in it, and believe in it. However, there is an underneath money-laundering side. It will NOT ever be going up much, certainly not to last year’s high around $68k. Much more likely to be seen in the future: $0.
....which is why the government absolutely loves the idea. They already control every other aspect of our lives. There is no better way to control us by controlling every single choice we make when it comes to what we buy.
After reading about Block Chain for several years, I still do not understand why I can't do exactly the same thing with a real time Excel spread sheet posted on a public website?
Adopting Bitcoin as currency is a bad on idea on several levels. First, because it is based on a scarce reserve principle (only 21 million coins could be created), it would unnecessarily restrict the potential liquidity of the money supply. This would result in slow growth and vulnerabilty to systemic black swans like pandemics and financial collapses.
Second, it could be cornered and manipulated by a small number of stake holders who could drive its value up or down to speculators rendering it unstable as a store of value.
The only digital coins that the US government would ever consider are “stable coins”. These are blockchain transactions that are pegged to an underlying fiat currency like the dollar. The problems with this are that it becomes nearly impossible to accurately track a fiat currency with a floating exchange rate like the dollar using futures or other derrivative instruments. Its also very inefficient and perceived as a shell game to smart investors who would prefer to transact in the underlying fiat currency. It would also be heavily regulated as discussed in the article to avoid its use for drugs, arms, and women trafficking which is the actual best use case for Bitcoin.
Ya but..The Ukraine. The Ukraine.
Forget about all this stuff..The Ukraine is way more important.
If it’s a bad idea, I expect it to be implemented soon.
Sounds like a real bad idea & I’m sure there are implications with it that no one has even considered yet. In fact, I’d be pretty sure that is why they want to implement something like this. With this administration, it always seems to be trying to get one step up on the American public.
Bingo.
I’m not “tin foil hat” to the point that I think Government created this, but I am “tin foil hat” enough to think they will exploit it.
Election deniers will find their funds frozen.
My fear is when they start mandating federal digital currency. The transition will transfer everyone’s wealth and it will be the greatest wealth transfer in human history. Except the elites will have a special carve out for themselves.
For example, anyone with under $50,000 will be able to transfer paper money to digital currency on a one-to-one basis. Anyone transfering any paper currency over that amount will transfer at a rate of 100 to 1, or even 1,000 to 1. And owning precious metals will become illegal so it will become illegal to trade or barter with, say, gold or silver. So all you have accumulated will stripped away in the mandatory transition to digital currency. And the government won’t really even have to mandate it. They’ll get corporations to only except digital currency just like they got credit card companies to track firearm purchases.
This will be the great reset and it will wipe people out of both wealth and freedom.
The rest of the world isn’t going to accept a currency that can be canceled. It will be the end of the USD.
Also stake based crypto can be taken over by governments because control rests with the largest holder of the currency so proof of work crypto will be banned using climate change as a justification
The US money supply at the end of July was $18.3 trillion.
The US currency supply is only about $2.5 trillion.
Meaning that most US dollars are already in digital form.
1) Bitcoin as a currency. It is certainly fungible and can be used in trade, but it is way way way way too volatile in price to be used as a currency. Useful currencies need to change their values in terms of fractional pips not in pennies. Bit coin is a speculative asset like stocks. When we buy and sell things we need something that varies in price as little as possible. Inflation and deflation are bad enough without super duper on steroids orders of magnitude inflation and deflation wild rollercoaster rides.
2) Our currency is mostly digital already. We can still use cash notes to represent it, but for the most part it is already digital.
3) Central control of the currency is a good thing to keep the price from fluctuating. This is why people prefer to trade in stable fiat currencies.
Because they can turn off your wallet and take taxes without asking?
Those are just two things.
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