CBDC - CCDC
Ideas
- The digitalization of the currency is inevitable.
- CBDCs "Central Bank Digital Currency" will be used by governments as a control tool. There are virtually no limits to what a centralized power can impose through currency!
- On the contrary, CCDCs "Citizen Controlled Digital Currency" put cryptocurrency at the service of citizens. They protect privacy, strengthen freedoms, and allow for the creation of rules that put currency at the service of society.
Central Bank Digital Currencies
Presented as simple digital versions of our official currency, CBDCs actually hide formidable possibilities.
The difference with our current currencies, which are already largely digital, lies in their ability to be programmed. It will therefore be possible to:
- Allocate money for specific purposes, for example: a portion of the salary must be spent on food, another on housing, another on leisure...
- Set thresholds: "you have consumed your meat quota for this month, we invite you to buy this delicious insect steak".
- Limit freedom of movement: "you have exceeded your carbon quota, it is no longer possible to refuel this month".
- Condition purchases on certain behavior: "you have recently shown incivility, this place is not accessible to you".
- Define geographical limits for the use of money: "you are outside your authorized zone".
- Link access to certain places to a certain income level: "this restaurant is reserved for people with more than xxxx euros in their account".
- Allow only certain accounts to collect payments: "you cannot transfer money to this third party". etc, etc, etc...
Our money will only be a glorified form of voucher or coupon, conditioned to all possible and imaginable parameters.
Thus, the United Kingdom, at the forefront of experimentation, is already preparing to limit to £20,000 the maximum amount of holdings in "Britcoin", the digital pound being prepared by the British central bank. The question is not the relevance of this measure, but the simple possibility of mechanically applying it through the programming of the currency!
In Nigeria, the largest country in the world with a state cryptocurrency in circulation, the objectives of the eNaira are clearly displayed:
The central bank can use a pre-programmed eNaira to pay the intended beneficiaries of social aid, which can only be accepted for a specific purpose and in specifically authorized locations. This use will ensure proper use of social funds, ensure the collection of high-quality data on the performance of these programs, and help prevent leakage or misappropriation of funds. This capability could be extended to other use cases in financial services and related ecosystems where there is a priority to maintain the integrity of funds and the purpose for which they are used.
CBDCs make the "Cashless Society" possible.
An Alternative Version of CBDCs - CCDCs
CCDC = Citizen Controlled Digital Currency.
This is the main theme of this text: we will not go back on technological progress. It is not about refusing evolution, but about setting up governance that ensures this evolution is indeed "progress" and not a control tool serving the system.
The idea is to create cryptocurrencies that liberate and implement rules voted on by the citizens within their Code. They must allow for anonymous transactions and peer-to-peer transfers without control or limitation. They must enable everyone to be their own bank, sovereign in the use of their money. Fungible, they will be the digital equivalent of today's cash.
These rules protecting fundamental freedoms do not prevent taking advantage of programmable cryptocurrency capabilities. They can automate tax collection and implement economic rules decided by the Démocratie Numérique, such as the distribution of Universal Basic Income. The currency thus serves the population.
The currency, whether physical or digital, programmable or not, should only serve economic purposes (facilitate exchanges, save, borrow...) and should not become a control tool; a system that allows for economically disconnecting an individual from society simply has far too much power!
To Follow the Topic
The current state of CBDC deployment around the world: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/