Former Coinbase CTO urges ‘come to Bitcoin’ before CBDC digital lockdown
Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan warned people to “GET TO BITCOIN BEFORE DIGITAL LOCKDOWN.”
The comment went a long way chirping about weaknesses in the banking system and the soon-to-be-released payment network FedNow.
Srinivasan described a hypothetical situation where individuals have “Bitcoin independence” or are limited to a CBDC system. He compared the latter to a digital financial ringfence, which he called the “Great Dollar Wall” – a nod to China’s Great Firewall that restricts access to certain websites deemed inappropriate by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
“The Fed will launch their CBDC in July.
You have approximately 90 days to exit.
After that, you’re trapped.”
Shop around and find out
Recent events – including the collapse and seizure of three US banks – have drawn attention to the fragility of the banking system. This uneasiness was further compounded over the weekend when Credit Suisse revealed a “material weakness”.
During a recent live broadcast, Input Output CEO Charles Hoskinson summarized the current state of the banking system, stating that failure is inevitable. Hoskinson pointed out the unsustainability of Ponzinomics, which involves creating money out of thin air and relying on monetary expansion to sustain the Ponzi scheme.
On March 15, the Fed said its FedNow payments network would launch in July. This network will provide settlement services, allowing participating organizations to make immediate payments to each other.
It is worth noting that FedNow is not a CBDC system. Nevertheless, some individuals suggest that it could be a complement or precursor to a CBDC, should such a thing become a reality.
Linking the two cases, Srinivasan launched into a long tirade, criticizing the US government’s history of dishonesty. For those still skeptical of his claims, Srinivasan challenged them to “poke around and figure it out.”
Bitcoin to the rescue?
CBDC critics voice concerns about the centralization of power and their potential to force behavioral compliance. Srinivasan echoed these concerns, saying:
“Just imagine wage, price and capital controls down to the individual level for those still trapped in the dollar system.“
Under such a system, he warned, it is “game over” for personal sovereignty and those who oppose and shout political slurs. Taking up the argument that “something like this could not happen in the west,” Srinivasan went on to rattle off several examples of US government lies.
“JThink of all the lies – NSA surveillance, Iraq WMD, the 2008 financial crisis, the last ten years of media outrage, the claim that masks don’t work until they do, the denial of inflation“
With that, he asked if readers had enough trust in the US government to give them complete control over their money.
For those who don’t, Srinivasan said financial sovereignty is possible through Bitcoin — and advised concerned citizens to acquire BTC “before they lock you up.”
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