The Bitcoin Policy Institute is proposing a ban on CBDCs for the United States
The American think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute has recommended that the United States reject Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and consider Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins as alternatives, according to Cointelegraph.
As reported by Cointelegraph, through a recently shared whitepaper, authors including Natalie Smolenski PhD, CEO, Texas Bitcoin Foundation, and former Kraken growth manager Dan Held, made the argument that CBDCs would strip the public of financial control, privacy and freedom. Smolenski and Held argued that CBDCs would be able to give governments direct access to every transaction made by an individual from any part of the world. The pair also stated that CBDCs would allow governments to disincentivize or reverse transactions, making them tools for financial censorship and control.
Based on information from Cointelegraph, Smolenski and Held’s recommended focus on surveillance will help bring government visibility into all financial transactions, which are not accounted for through the digital banking system. Smolenski highlighted that Bitcoin and private stablecoins will allow instant, low-cost, digital transactions, both domestically and across borders, while digital dollars and stablecoins will be subject to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer compliance. Insights from the white paper showed that governments reportedly remain out of their depth with new technology, pointing to an incident earlier when Dcash, an Eastern Caribbean central bank’s CBDC, went offline.
Moreover, Cointelegraph noted that CBDCs are expected to undergo development in countries such as China. Earlier, US President Joe Biden mentioned that the country is expected to follow suit after instructing the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to submit a report analyzing 18 CBDC systems. The Bitcoin Policy Institute bills itself as a non-partisan, non-profit organization, researching the political and societal implications of Bitcoin and emerging monetary networks.
“The United States should stand for something else: it should stand for freedom. For this reason, the United States should reject central bank digital currencies, Smolenski and Held said.
(With insights from Cointelegraph)
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