True liberty cannot exist without economic and financial autonomy. Every individual, regardless of their background, must have the right to protect their wealth. They must have the right to access open markets by transacting freely, without the shadow of state corporatism or financial surveillance.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are a direct threat to these rights.
They are money that can be programmed by the government. They can be turned off completely or just for spending on items the state disapproves of. They are a surveillance-punishment system dressed in the language of financial innovation. They are not “just another digital form” of money.
That is why my Cato colleagues and I have worked so hard to get the truth out about CBDC’s.
...read more at cato.org
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Good piece — but the off switch isn't a CBDC problem. It's already the law for "private" stablecoins.
GENIUS requires every permitted issuer to be able to freeze, seize, or burn your tokens on a lawful order — condition of the license. Circle and Tether have already done it ($8.2M one time, $1B+ over time). A regulated stablecoin is the same kill switch as a CBDC, just wearing a corporate logo.
Which is exactly what nobody's pricing into the agent economy: an AI agent transacting on its own can't run on money a court order freezes mid-task — no human's standing by to call the bank. The only digital money with no off switch is the one with no issuer to flip it: Bitcoin.
(Been writing this up at bitcoineconomy.ai if it's your rabbit hole.)