.jpg)
Digital Money: The assumption that Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are more reliable than stablecoins should raise some eyebrows, says International Lawyer Yaroslav K. Yarutin.
The past fifty years have dramatically reshaped the world’s socio-economic landscape. The globalist approach to the formation of social fabric is through degrees of material possession. This has solidified the status of money as an integral companion on the thorny path of evolution.
However, money itself has also evolved and undergone drastic changes. This is in both its forms and applications. It reflects fundamental shifts in its perception as a store of value in mass consciousness.
But is the financial component of society still such a firm bastion backed by the indisputable authority of the state?
The state-backed model of monetary stability was formed under the influence of the Westphalian world order prevalent in the 17th century. Most world leaders, and their subjects, still adhere to such views on money on an almost subconscious level.
Despite technological advancements, the echoes of such archaic views are reverberating even now. It can be seen in the latest iteration of money in its digital form.
Central Bank Digital Currencies
According to the Financial Action Task Force and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), a digital form of fiat money, are more reliable than stablecoins. This is solely due to the fact that the emission of CBDCs is carried out by a central bank. Not by a decentralized organization or a group of enthusiasts.
Considering the associated level of risks, the international community has developed a similar approach. The global banking watchdog stated that stablecoins involve additional risks. This is because non-state actors are behind the issuance of such coins.
Financial regulators sincerely believe that money developed by a state is more reliable. But just how reliable are such CBDCs in essence? Are they backed by any commodities or tangible assets? Or does their backing rest solely on their legal status?
Given the rampant inflation flogging fiat, and its exchange rate volatility, the assumption that CBDCs are more reliable should raise some eyebrows.
Even the global banking watchdog emphasizes that it is necessary for financial institutions and regulators “to capture the risks relating to stabilization mechanisms” of cryptocurrencies when evaluating the risk ratio.
Could stabilization mechanisms developed by a group of enthusiasts be more trustworthy than state-backed ones? They certainly could, at least from a mathematical and economical point of view.
Digital Money: Soft Laws
The aforementioned provisions do not stem from international law instruments. They come from the so-called “soft” law. The adoption of “soft” law provisions does not require full coherence by sovereign states. This is in contrast to the process of concluding international treaties or conventions. Hereby, the international community declares the uselessness of sovereign will while sculpting international regulation frameworks.
The international community has recognized virtual currencies, including stablecoins, as categories subject to international law. There is already a legal basis being prepared for the global recognition of digital currencies. By developing a legal approach, the international community is subtly calling on states to implement rules allowing the free circulation of virtual currencies on a par with fiat money.
The widespread implementation of virtual currencies is considered a harbinger of the new world order. It is characterized by the redistribution of financial sovereignty of the state among supranational entities and groups of enthusiasts.
Every individual is entitled to have their own political views, or lack thereof, and this right is immutable. Every group of enthusiasts has the right to defend their ideals, as long as they do not violate any standing laws. However, would a state advocate the concept of its sovereignty? Surprisingly, on the contrary, states are contributing in every possible way to the advent of the new world order.
Digital Money Vs Traditional
A considerable number of people and businesses across the globe are refraining from fiat money for a number of reasons. These include its non-universality, high inflationary expectations, and a heavy compliance burden.
These circumstances are obviously reducing the competitiveness of the traditional financial system. It is based on fiat money championed by the US Dollar as a global reserve currency. The latter is literally undermining its own status by becoming an instrument of political manipulation and repression in an ongoing economic type of warfare. It is leading to the destruction of civil liberties and the free exchange of value globally.
Humanity is currently in desperate need of a strictly regulated traditional financial system. And, an alternative in the form of decentralized finance that is free of redundant control, ruthless repressions, discrimination and intolerance, rampant corruption, and unfair restrictions.
To win the geopolitical race of the 21st century, states must discard the oppressive paradigm of legal prohibitions related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based projects.
Money should not be a restrictive instrument, but rather a uniting force for facilitating the free movement of goods and services.
The current financial system in place is just the opposite. It is a weaponized instrument of subjugation for forcefully imposing points of view.
Therefore, alternative finance is becoming the haven that blurs the boundaries between people. And, it meets the fundamental needs for the inclusive and sustainable development of all mankind.
Also:
Central Bank Digital Currencies And The Orwellian New World Order
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have received increasing interest since Facebook’s failed launch of Libra and China’s recent announcement that they are moving forward with the digital yuan after an early trial period. This is “why we Bitcoin”: because the damage, destruction, and inequality brought about by fiat money will only be magnified with the proliferation of CBDCs.
Although some manifestations of the US dollar are already digital, there are inherent differences in what can be done with these new digital currencies. First, money can be time-based, and the issuer (the People’s Bank of China in the case of the digital yuan) can set an expiration date for your money. Money can also be “fine-tuned” to be sector-based, meaning that it can be designated to only be spent in certain sectors or stores. Finally, China has already implemented a draconian social credit score system, and that the digital yuan could end up tying into the social credit score. For centralized governments, CBDCs have huge benefits over both the current fiat system and a decentralized, neutral currency. However, that is not the case for the sovereign individual.
With CBDCs, the central government has the ability to attach an expiration date to money. Following the economic shutdowns of 2020, many people questioned whether the stimulus payments would circulate into the real economy or whether they’d just stay on the sidelines as savings or debt payments. Enter CBDCs. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s initial interest in a CBDC was as a way to influence the velocity of money.
When the U.S. government granted stimulus payments to its citizens to keep the economy afloat, there was no guarantee that the recipients would use them as the government intended. Those payments were meant to help people who lost jobs make ends meet and otherwise keep the economy moving. Saving that money for a rainy day, paying off debt, and investing it all run counter to the desires of a government that desires inflation.
The U.S. government (along with most governments around the world) is in a tremendous amount of debt, and at this point, the only solution for a government as indebted as that of the U.S. is inflation. Inflation is often sold as a necessity for the economy, with its proponents insisting that it goes hand-in-hand with economic growth: it increases the prices of goods and services but comes with the benefit of a more productive economy that produces more of those goods and services. In reality, the only reason why inflation is “necessary” is because without it, the government would be unable to meet its debt obligations. Politicians would not be reelected because they would fail to provide the handouts on which they campaigned, but more importantly, the government and global reserve currency would default, causing untold levels of economic damage worldwide.
So, the government’s desire for inflation drives the desire for money to which they can add an expiration date. When inflation is the goal, money needs to be circulated quickly, and CBDCs allow for that. With programmable money, the central bank could issue money through some sort of helicopter money program (universal basic income [UBI], stimulus, etc.) and require that the money be used by a certain date, or else it would simply vanish. That would prevent people from saving it (the neo-Keynesian sin of “hoarding”) and ensure that the money circulates into the economy. By adding money into the economy and removing the ability to save that money, the Federal Reserve (or any other central bank) could more easily achieve its inflation targets, thereby ensuring the desired destruction of our wealth at an average rate of 2%/year.
With the stimulus payments, the Fed is most closely targeting inflation. They purchase the government issued bonds which enable the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government to issue stimulus. With CBDCs in the picture in a situation similar to the COVID lockdowns, people would be unable to make their own decisions about what to do with their stimulus payments. In many cases, this is money that the government is giving people because it took away their ability to earn a living. Yet, individuals would be stuck having to spend it when they might think they would be better off paying down debt or saving for a more long-term purchase.
If we consider a possible future with UBI, money with an expiration date could reduce lower-income individuals to a role as pure consumers: they would exist as vessels to spend money to keep the economy moving, but they would have no ability to save to start a business or improve their lifestyle. The psychology inherent in a money giveaway program would incline people to maintain their lifestyle, never advancing, but growing more agitated as others advance around them; Thomas Sowell believes that this would exacerbate social strife.
One of the problems with attaching an expiration date to money is that more restrictions are needed to produce the desired inflation. In a stagnating economy, individuals typically want to save, invest, and pay off debt because they are concerned about keeping their jobs and making ends meet (see Milton Friedman’s “permanent income hypothesis”). Although setting an expiration date on money prevents saving, more restrictions are needed to prevent people from investing and paying off debt with their newfound helicopter money.
Central banks would need to be able to fine-tune money to prevent certain uses (investing and paying off debt) to ensure that the newly printed money is put directly into the economy. However, at that point, it is not a long stretch to restrict the new money to being spent in specific sectors and businesses. Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, has stated that the bank wants to have “absolute control” over the use of money. This idea should ring authoritarian alarm bells.
Some dystopian capabilities come with the government’s ability to fine-tune money. Anyone who has read The Bitcoin Standard or allowed Bitcoin to change their time preference knows that the mere existence of a fiat monetary system changes people’s behavior, generally in a negative manner. They are more likely to take on debt, spend outside of their means, overwork themselves, and reduce their time with their families. The ability for programmable CBDCs to change people’s decision making would be dramatic.
With programmable CBDCs, central banks would have the ability to force individuals to finance political pet projects. For example, because of the growing concern around climate change, a central bank could manipulate the money so that it could only be spent on “green” businesses. If the right person had enough influence, perhaps the next round of stimulus would not be able to be spent on beef, but perhaps only on vegetables, edible bug paste, and pod-based real estate. Regardless, the money system would quickly become a tool wielded by the most influential to pursue their goals, some of which you may share but others of which you may dramatically oppose.
Although this may seem like a dire possibility, it does not even consider the possibility of tying the concept of a social credit score to a future CBDC. The possibilities of controlling the population could definitely be expanded if that were to happen: central planners would be in a position to encourage certain behaviors by individuals who receive stimulus payments or UBI. If average employees are referred to as “wage slaves” today, then what are they when the government can remove their ability to access the goods and services if they don’t stay in line?
So far, we’ve focused primarily on the use case of CBDCs as UBI, stimulus, or other helicopter-type payments. However, there is also the possibility that a government could apply the same controls to all money entering the system, including wages. That would give the central bank even more control over the citizenry, but such controls could not be implemented immediately because they could be seen as too much of a shock.
This is why we Bitcoin: we are now in a race to wield a monetary weapon against a corrupted system. We don’t desire to control others, we just desire not to have others control us. A neutral, permissionless money is needed to prevent government’s continuing creep and overreach, and it has arrived just in time. If CBDCs are implemented in the near future, it will be necessary for Bitcoiners to be ready with solutions to exchange goods and services for bitcoin. Fortunately, there are solutions available, and they are improving every day.
When it comes to the tyrannical possibilities of CBDCs, bitcoin is truly freedom money. Will the U.S. and the West follow the path of China, which intends to implement a highly authoritarian monetary system to further control its populace, or will they embrace a neutral, permissionless option that is in line with the foundations on which the United States was built?
Also:
Central Bank Digital Currency
For several decades, there has been much speculation about the emergence of a cashless society. The advent of credit and debit cards fuelled speculation that the end of this present age is near. It was a step in that direction but not quite as yet. The plastic cards did not replace cash completely.
In recent years, we see the emergence of the concept of digital wallets. We use mobile devices to make purchases.
China is the first country to make the transition, and it does so seamlessly. The quick adoption of digital money by the Chinese took many observers by surprise. This digital phenomenon spreads rapidly. Now, digital payment is common in many advanced economies such as Singapore.
A nationally owned digital currency is commonly known as Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.
The revolution of money continues with the invention and innovation of blockchain technology. In the last few years, cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, become increasingly popular. These digital currencies fuel the imagination of many people. They see the possibility of delinking money and monetary transactions from the control of national central banks and global financial institutions. Understandably, the global elites and national governments are alarmed at the development.
To stave off the challenge posed by potential alternative monetary systems and the consequent loss of control, national governments began to explore developing their own digital currencies. A nationally owned digital currency is commonly known as Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.
We are witnessing a flurry of announcements in 2022 concerning CBDCs.
China is the first off the blocks. China has been testing the digital yuan in a few selected cities. As of 19 September 2022, the beta version of the digital yuan was officially launched for iOS and Android in Chinese app stores. The app is freely available for anyone to download and use in 23 selected cities.
The United States announced earlier this year of its intention to roll out its digital dollar. In his first week in office, the new United Kingdom Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, gave a briefing on the progress of the development of the U.K. CBDC. Sunak had been at the forefront of pushing for a British CBDC when he served as the Chancellor of Exchequer in the previous cabinet. The Eurogroup (an informal body that brings together ministers from the European Union to discuss matters related to the European currency) emphasised the importance of developing the digital euro. The Bank of International Settlements (the central bank of central banks) and the European Central Bank had openly stated their intention to replace cash with digital currencies.
Meanwhile, back home, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on 31 October 2022 that it was also working on a purpose-bound digital Singapore dollar, or purpose-bound money (PBM).
All these developments of digital wallets and CBDCs will bring many benefits to modern societies. Foremost is convenience and ease of financial transactions.
With the complexity of global finance and the rapid advancement of digital technology, the development of CBDCs is inevitable. More sophisticated and efficient ways of managing financial transactions have to be developed. Therefore, it is not surprising that countries with technological capabilities are jumping on the bandwagon to develop their own CBDCs.
All these developments of digital wallets and CBDCs will bring many benefits to modern societies. Foremost is convenience and ease of financial transactions. There is no need to carry cash and credit cards. There is no need for cumbersome chequebooks.
Concerns about CBDCs
On the surface, all this may appear to be a natural and positive development. But there are implications that we should be concerned.
In the hands of benevolent governments, this new monetary system has many benefits. However, in the hands of corrupt and tyrannical governments, these CBDCs can be easily turned into a tool for totalitarian control.
Technology is neutral. But we need to ask some pertinent questions. Who are at the forefront driving this transformative shift and what are their motives?
These questions are necessary because the people and institutions at the helm of this new monetary system wield the power to control the lives of the populations. With the CBDC, the government can control how you spend your money. They can control all your buying and selling.
In the hands of benevolent governments, this new monetary system has many benefits. However, in the hands of corrupt and tyrannical governments, these CBDCs can be easily turned into a tool for totalitarian control.
Now, connect the dots to the 666-mark of the beast system. You can see how easily the Antichrist and his one-world government can make use of this new monetary system to exert tyrannical control over both nations and individuals. I believe we are moving toward this eventuality rapidly.
Recently, Dutch finance minister, Sigrid Kaag, proposed a bill that would require banks to monitor all payments above 100 euros and limit cash transactions to 3,000 euros. As you would expect, she is a strong proponent of the digital euro. Why would she want to monitor payments above100 euros? The reason can only be for the purpose of control.
Sigrid Kaag is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF has been at the forefront of proposing fundamental changes to reset the world and the existing global order in several areas ranging from finance to business, health, climate change, sexuality, etc. Many of the proposals are preposterous and tyrannical. If the WEF has its ways, we will see powers over the nations centred on a small group of global elites.
I am watching the money revolution and the CBDCs with much suspicion. Let me repeat. Technology is neutral and technological developments are good. But in the hands of these global elites with suspicious motives, the world is quickly moving toward totalitarianism. A global government with an ironclad grip over international finance and banking is emerging soon.
Clearly, the WEF is not working alone. It works closely with other global institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organisation, etc.
Using many suspicious agendas, the global elites through these global institutions are taking control of the world. Can you see how a global government is coming together quickly?
This is why I am watching the money revolution and the CBDCs with much suspicion. Let me repeat. Technology is neutral and technological developments are good. But in the hands of these global elites with suspicious motives, the world is quickly moving toward totalitarianism. A global government with an ironclad grip over international finance and banking is emerging soon.
The Ways CBDCs Can be Used to Control People
In the hands of an authoritarian government, the CBDC can be used to enforce compliance with its agendas.
CBDCs are smart monies because they are programmable. While the government cannot restrict your usage of cash, they can easily do so with digital money. They can program it to put restrictions on your digital wallet and your spending. Essentially, it can be deployed as tool for control.
Here are a few examples of how CBDCs can be used to control individuals.
In the event of a pandemic, the government can use CBDC to enforce compliance. Say a lockdown is imposed and the citizens’ movement is restricted to one kilometre from their homes. If a person goes outside the one-kilometre range, his digital wallet can be shut down and he will not be able to pay for his petrol or make any purchase.
To encourage vaccination, the government can place many restrictions on the digital wallets of those who remain unvaccinated. Their lives will be inconvenienced and made miserable.
The tentacles of the climate change agenda have taken hold of the global financial and banking system. So, it is not surprising that CBDCs will be used to coerce citizens to comply with the green agenda.
To curb carbon emissions, restrictions will be placed on your digital wallet. You can only pump a certain amount of petrol and buy a limited amount of red meat. Through CBDCs, your consumption of goods and even services will be placed under digital surveillance and control.
Our freedom and liberty are at stake. There is no escape. Biblical prophecies are clear that is how the last global empire at the end of this present age will control much of the world through the 666-mark of the beast global financial and banking system.
If you protest, they will say that it is good for your health and the environment. In the name of saving the planet, the global elites will control the nations by controlling CBDCs through the international banking system.
The move toward a CBDC regime is inevitable. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with it. However, a powerful monetary system like that will sooner or later fall into the hands of wicked despots. Actually, these power-hungry global elites already have plans to use it for global control.
Our freedom and liberty are at stake. There is no escape. Biblical prophecies are clear that is how the last global empire at the end of this present age will control much of the world through the 666-mark of the beast global financial and banking system.
But I have good news for you. Believe in Jesus and He will save you from this tyrannical monetary system of the New World Order. There is no escape except through Him. Jesus will come to rescue those who are His. His faithful followers will be raptured before the full impact of the mark of the beast kicks in.
