What are CBDCs?

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are state-issued digital currencies, designed to function as a centralized form of money controlled by governments. Unlike Bitcoin, which is decentralized and permissionless, CBDCs are programmable and fully subject to government control.

While some CBDC initiatives claim to use blockchain technology, in reality, most are built on centralized databases, giving governments complete oversight and absolute control over every transaction.

CBDCs are not new currencies but rather a more restrictive digital form of existing fiat money. They represent a fundamental shift in who has power over financial transactions—moving from individuals to central banks and governments.

Why are Governments pushing for CBDCs?

Governments worldwide are accelerating their CBDC development, with over 100 countries (accounting for 95% of global GDP) already in research, development, or pilot stages.

The official justification for CBDCs includes:

Faster payments – Instant transactions without intermediaries.

Reduced costs – Eliminates some banking fees.

More automation – Enables programmable payments and smart contracts.

While these benefits sound appealing, the true motivation behind CBDCs is control. Governments are interested in tracking, monitoring, and regulating every financial transaction within their economy.

Even democratic governments acknowledge that CBDCs would allow them to directly intervene in spending behavior. Risks:

• Expiration dates on money (forcing people to spend rather than save).
• Negative interest rates (penalizing holders of digital cash).
• Restrictions on spending (limiting purchases based on government policies).

The Risks ⚠️

CBDCs are often marketed as “just digital cash”, but they come with potential dangers:

1. Financial Censorship at a large Scale

With CBDCs, governments control every transaction. This means they can:

• Freeze or confiscate funds instantly.

• Deny purchases based on location, spending habits, personal beliefs or any other criteria.

• Blacklist individuals or groups Imagine a world where:

• You criticize government policy? Your bank account is frozen.

• You donate to an “unapproved” charity? Your transactions are blocked.

• Your carbon footprint exceeds the limit? You can’t buy gas this month. What may seem far-fetched today is already happening in authoritarian regimes, and even in democratic countries through financial deplatforming. CBDCs would turbocharge this ability.

2. Mass Surveillance and Loss of Privacy 🚨

CBDCs eliminate cash, removing the last way of (fiat) private financial transactions. Every CBDC payment would be tracked, recorded, and analyzed.

• No privacy: Every purchase is logged forever.
• Total surveillance: Governments see exactly how you spend.
• Predictive enforcement: AI could preemptively punish “risky” behavior. Bitcoin on the other hand provides true financial freedom because no one can censor or monitor transactions.

3. Social Engineering through programmable Money

CBDCs would be programmable, allowing central banks to dictate how, when, and where money can be used. This could lead to:

🔴 Expiration Dates on Money – If you don’t spend it within a set timeframe, your money disappears.

🔴 Restricted Purchases – Governments could block transactions.

🔴 Social Credit Systems – Bad behavior? Your spending power could be limited.

We’ve already seen similar mechanisms in China’s social credit system, where individuals can lose financial privileges for political dissent.

4. Economic Control and Policy Abuse

CBDCs would give governments an unprecedented economic weapon:

⚠️  Instant stimulus programs – Money could be injected directly into wallets, forcing spending.

⚠️ Negative interest rates – Savings could be eroded automatically.

⚠️ Debt cancellation - Governments could wipe debt in exchange for compliance.

These policies would fundamentally alter free markets and concentrate total economic power in the hands of central banks.

History has proven time and time again that governments cannot be trusted with this level of control. CBDCs would give them the ability to manipulate the economy at a high level.

Conclusion: CBDCs are a Tool for Control, not Freedom.

Final Thoughts

• CBDCs are government-issued digital currencies that eliminate financial privacy
• They allow for mass surveillance, financial censorship, and transaction control
• The best way to protect against CBDC control is to adopt decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin