"If you can move every person into a digital concentration camp, empty their bank account at any time, and tell them what they can and can't spend money on, you're in complete control." - Catherine Austin Fitts
Central Bank Digital Currencies (“CBDCs”) are digital currencies issued directly by 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 transactions, peer-to-peer transactions – that made Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such a revolutionary technology.
As you can imagine, CBDCs will be tied to user identities and digital identifiers, allowing for full state surveillance and eliminating any chance of financial privacy.
According to the tool for tracking Central Bank digital currencies of the Atlantic Council, 112 countries representing over 95 percent of global GDP are exploring CBDC.
11 countries have already launched digital currency, including Nigeria and numerous Caribbean nations.
14 countries are testing pilot programs, including South Korea, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and China, which will expand the use of the digital yuan in 2023.
Read more: Central bank digital currencies are the next frontier in the battle for freedom