Extended Distillation: The Fight Against Central Bank Digital Currencies

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What are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)?

CBDCs are the names given to digital money issued by central banks. They are designed to be used as a means of payment, like cash, but without the same level of anonymity.

Okay but Visa, Mastercard and my bank already track all my money so what is the difference?

CBDCs would be the direct responsibility of the central bank and would be programmed and tracked through a single digital ledger system.

You should recognize this digital ledger concept if you have any familiarity with existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

However, with a centralized CBDC, the issuing central bank would be able to track every transaction and could unilaterally freeze assets, seize them, blacklist individuals, businesses, organizations or whole industries from spending their own money.

Distributed Ledger vs Centralized Ledger

With a distributed ledger system like Bitcoin or Ethereum, transactions are tracked on a decentralized network of computers which anyone can join if they meet various minimal criteria.

This network is designed so that no single entity can control it or tamper with the data. This prevents censorship of transactions or seizure of assets.

With a centralized ledger system — like a CBDC — transactions would be tracked on a single digital system controlled by the central bank.

The Real Problem

While the disappearance of general financial privacy through the enactment of CBDCs is a non-trivial concern, the much larger problem exists from the second and third order consequences of their implementation.

In an increasingly polarized world it doesn’t take much to engage in or be coerced into an act of censorship against your “enemies”.

What Is Happening In China?

For those unfamiliar with the current situation in China, it can likely be seen as the endgame for what these CBDCs can enable (alongside an accompanying digital identification and social credit system).

China has adopted a zero COVID policy (which is going great).

If ever there was a need for a sarcasm font…

Here’s what is happening:

China has implemented COVID passports similar to those that arrived in other countries during the last two years. But, they’ve stepped it up a notch.

1. The passports are required to leave your home, pass checkpoints within cities, purchase groceries or use public transportation among other things.

2. They have 3 levels — Red, Yellow, Green. Red meaning you can’t access anything, yellow meaning you have restricted access and green being full access.

3. These passports are linked to digital identification (like a drivers license in the cloud).

The 3 levels were introduced to show your exposure to COVID (not vaccine status), prevent you from using public utilities and prevent the spread to “zero”.

The problem arises when citizens engage in negative behaviour in the eyes of the state.

Due to ongoing Chinese protests against lockdowns, the CCP have begun targeting protesters by changing their passports to the red level through their massive surveillance state technology.

This has caused food shortages, the inability to purchase groceries, and the cancelation of transportation for people who are protesting.

Even if they somehow managed to bypass checkpoints, the digital Chinese yuan that is linked to their digital passport would be locked and unable to be spent.

The result is effectively a starvation embargo.

This coercion and their social credit system was also being used prior to the arrival of COVID to ban upwards of 23,000,000 Chinese citizens from purchasing travel tickets.

The World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international organization for public-private cooperation. The WEF engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

In recent years the WEF has come under fire for its controversial agenda known as “The Great Reset” in the wake of the pandemic.

An agenda that wholeheartedly endorses some of these problematic technological innovations that are of cause for concern.

• Digital Identity

• ESG Scores (Social credit systems that reward business for behaving in various ways)

• CBDC Policymaker Toolkit

Blake why do I care about the WEF?

They’ve not been shy on touting their influence on governments in recent years. Klaus Schwab boasted in 2017 that more than 50% of Justin Trudeau’s cabinet are young leaders of the World Economic Forum. Canada’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is also part of the Board of Trustees.

They’ve also received endorsements of their Great Reset agenda from Canada, United States, Netherlands and New Zealand.

On recommendation from the WEF, Canada and the Netherlands have pledged to reduce fertilizer use in service of better ESG scores and climate goals.

Trudeau’s government setting the target of 30% reduction. Which some experts weighed in could cost farmers $10,400,000,000 over the coming decade due to reduced yields.

An Example Closer To Home

We don’t even have to go back a full year for a look at how CBDCs could be weaponized against the people of Canada.

Regardless of your opinion on the merit or reasoning behind Canada’s trucker convoy back in January of 2022, the freezing and seizure of their assets shouldn’t be looked at with any great pride on the part of Canadians.

In this instance the Canadian government was able to align with banks, donation platforms, insurance companies and cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze the accounts of protest organizers.

In a world where CBDCs are the norm, there is no intermediary. The Canadian government could simply request that the Central Bank of Canada blacklist users from accessing funds.

They could even go as far as preventing people from transferring funds to those blacklisted or blacklisting transactions from individuals that donated to a protester — as some feared may happen during the 2022 events.

CBDCs Are Coming

There is no doubt that central bank digital currencies are arriving and will be implemented in the coming years.

This website tracks the state of all CBDC projects across the world as governments ramp up their progress.

Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak celebrated the launch of principles for CBDCs just last year.

The New York Federal Reserve just announced a 12 week pilot program of digital dollars with Mastercard, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

Shooting Ourselves in the Foot Face

The collapse of offshore and unregulated cryptocurrency exchange FTX has lead to calls for CBDCs to arrive sooner than later. Including from the Bank of England’s Jon Cunliffe.

The stealing of billions of dollars by Sam Bankman-Fried — now more affectionately known by the crypto community as Scam Bankman-Fraud — has accelerated the pressure for regulation and introduction of CBDCs.

It is unfortunate that the actions of this small group of individuals may force this fight before the public is sufficiently knowledgable enough to take it on.

So I’m trying to do my part to educate who I can!

Some Hope

Bloomberg reported at the end of October that Nigeria’s adoption of the eNaira has been a massive failure.

Only ~0.5% of Nigerians have embraced the new CBDC despite government incentives for adoption. In response Nigeria has leaned into traditional cryptocurrencies with now the 11th highest adoption rate of Bitcoin in the world.

You really only need to take a quick scan through Twitter to see the lamentation of CBDCs from anyone who doesn’t have a stake in their success.

What Can You Do?

Educate.

People will begin to willingly accept the introduction of these new technologies under the guise of convenience or “security.”

The goal is to educate others on the hidden dangers that these technologies bring.

The hope is that when these technologies arrive you will be able to recognize the potential dangers and educate those around you.

…so, while the tyrannical ruling of the Chinese Communist Party seems like a totally distant world, you must recognize that the technology might be coming closer to home than you realize.

The government is now knocking on our doors, and much like a vampire will need to be invited in.

What seems like a harmless ask may really be waiting to show its fangs until it is too late.

The Refinery

1. How does Bitcoin Actually Work?

2. What Are Central Bank Digital Currencies?

3. The Hidden Agenda on The Rich Dad Radio Show

4. The Biggest Threat To Our Financial Freedom by Sorelle Amore