CBDC OR BITCOIN? NO THANKS.
I think we need something better.
Great news from Nigeria.... An experiment with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) has flopped. According to Bloomberg, only 1 in 200 Nigerians use the ‘eNaira’. That’s even after the government implemented discounts and other incentives to increase adoption. This came as a nasty surprise to the predator class.
Apparently, the people view their government as “hostile to them and therefore have no interest in anything it introduces.” BRAVO NIGERIA!
That attitude towards governments is the answer, not just in terms of the economy but in every possible way. Govern (the word) should be replaced by serve, resulting in a shift of consciousness towards the entire process and putting the people firmly and forever in charge of the decision making process. It should be a privilege to serve the people, not a status symbol or a badge of superiority. If serving civilisation were viewed this way, good people would be queuing up to apply for the job. As things stand, the job only attracts the greedy power-hungry psychos of this world!
Elon Musk quoted yesterday "Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God.” and declared an amnesty for those suspended by Twitter. He acted upon the results of an opinion poll. Good move. I hope it works well for his ailing social media platform, maybe even inject a bit of sanity back into society as a whole. I can only hope.
So, if CBDC schemes are viewed with suspicion, what are the alternatives?
Let’s look at the case of Nigeria again.
It has one of the highest Bitcoin adoption rates in the world—ranking #11 among all countries. Other crypto currencies also find a market there.
I don’t know about you, but I have BIG reservations about crypto currencies.
Let me run them by you:
I am a grannie. How would I give the kiddies a bit of pocket money? Pay the window cleaner? Tip the cabbie or waitress? Help the homeless? Support a carnival? Buy some organic home grown veg from a struggling neighbour? I could go on and on....
I don't like the idea of imaginary tokens stored in cyber space. It is like owning Monopoly money! I cannot spend them, teach a child to count with them or play card games for pennies. I cannot see a result for my hard labour, solid in my hand or saved in a piggy bank for something I really need.
If the internet goes down, where is my money?
If the electricity grid gets zapped by an incoming sun flare, where is my money?
Nope.... Crypto has big drawbacks and red flags. Even the name means somewhere you store dead bodies! Not somewhere you should be visiting to conduct every financial transaction!
I think we can dream up something much better.
Something like the Bradbury Pound or the US Greenback - genuine national currencies, printed by ourselves, rather than by a hidden hand which charges astronomical interest that can never be repaid. In this way we cut the greedy middle men (banksters) right out of the picture.
Goodbye boys, you are now REDUNDANT.
Doesn’t that sound sensible to you?
Don’t be shy. Argue with me. Suggest a better idea. I am all ears.
Just don’t get too mathematical or techie on me cos I will zone out and nod off…..
Ok, I’ll make a few arguments. :) first off, yes, 100% agree that CBDCs should not be allowed to proliferate and they are the next tool of the predatory class that will be used for enslavement. Good on Nigeria for leading the way on shutting it down.
The current fiat currency system is a zombie system. It’s too late to save it because it breaks one of the soundest rule of good money: scarcity. As soon as Wilson signed into law over a hundred years ago that private interests (The FED) will be in charge of printing our money (along with other shenanigans), the dollar became a dying money. There’s more to it, of course, but it’s important to understand why Bitcoin is different from a currency that can be controlled by one central location (like a bank that can just print more of it to serve private interests).
Crypto and bitcoin isn’t synonymous. There will only be 21m bitcoin ever. No more. The code is written so no more can be printed and therefore devalue it. It is a deflationary currency. Also, think of Bitcoin more as a ledger that can’t be corrupted so in that regard it’s value is already larger than just its monetary value. You said not to get technical, so I’ll skip the how, just imprint that it’s important that there is no arbiter or custodian to trust or to tell you how your money can be used.
Other shitcoins out there (crypto) don’t offer the same value as bitcoin. Most are inflationary (more can be made) and/or are centralized (like fiat) so they crash whenever that centralized entity gets greedy.
As to your point about being able to dispense tangible cash: I don’t see why that can’t be done with some ingenuity. A dollar is still just a symbolic representation of abstract value. We could use Monopoly money to represent value if we were really pressed, heck, in prison they use cigarettes. Anything can serve as that tangible expression of value. I imagine that if something like Bitcoin serves as a global ubiquitous currency, then locally, we can some up with something that we can give to the kids, or the homeless, or a tips that can be redeemable the way coupons are. It would be insular but for small amounts it shouldn’t make a big difference. There’s actually a place that already does that, I’m sorry it fails me to remember where.
Ultimately, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the average person has a hard time answering the questions about money. Most don’t know how it works and where it comes from and I would even venture to say that this is deliberate. If we all knew, we’d want to escape that system as soon as possible. It has kept us indentured to a ruling class of banking elites that no one elected and no one would choose to be in service to.
I was completely blind to all of this until recently. But now have made it a point to educate myself as much as possible with help from random good people who would leave comments on my stack and point me in the direction of knowledge. The community that has been born out of Substack is really invaluable.
I’m sorry if I took up so much space. The take away is learning how money works allows us to fix our world.
Very good article Frances. I have been meaning to revisit this on my stack, but life got in the way.
I, like Visceral Adventure below, will refer to the American dollar/system, since that is what I'm most familiar with.
I do agree with you, on all your points, so no arguments there.
My take on CBDC (in America and most globalist run Western countries) is that unlike Nigeria, the people will not have a choice in the matter.
I spent quite a lot of time in Africa (in the forces) and up until the last decade, never realized how uncorrupted their governments were, as compared to my own. This latest example of the people having the power to refuse usage and the government not shoving the crypto down their throats, is an eye opener.
I do not think it will be the same in America and countries like her. It will be like a light switch....something like..."On Jan 01, 2023 your paper dollars will be replaced by the HTR (Harriet Tubman RuPaul) digital dollar. Please bring your paper dollars to your nearest bank, to change them into HTR digital dollars. You will be given a 1:1 exchange rate up until Jan 1. After that the paper will be worthless. Those completing the exchange before Jan 1, will be given 10,000 HTRs as a bonus for helping move the transition along quickly and smoothly."
Now many say, they can't do that. I say they can and we have examples of this, in the last three years. Once the federal government blew the dog whistle for masks and jabs, the private sectors rolled into action. You could not board an airplane without one or the other...or both. Same went for schools, work and shops.
The argument is that people resisted and refused...me included. The only reason they were able to do so, is because there were alternatives. You could drive, bike, walk or postpone a trip...you could home school, you could grow your own food or go to local farmers, you could also get another job or ride out the craziness using CCs or tapping into your savings. There will be no workable alternatives, where a national currency is concerned. This premise doesn't include person to person transactions, where bartering and trading will still be viable, to fill these small gaps.
When it comes to institutional transactions (mortgage, rent, insurance, credit cards, grocery shopping, gas, utility bills, etc.) you will have no choice, but to use the HTRs, because pre-day 1, all those companies/institutions will adopt the digital currency. They will have no choice and won't want one, because they are controlled by the central banks...who are working hand in hand with the BIS...who is controlled by all the behind the scenes entities, you have written so much about Frances.
You will be paid in HTRs, via Direct deposit. There will be no ATMs or tellers handing out tangible fiat currency. It will all be a tap of your phone or wrist on a reader, that interacts with the graphene nanoparticles and/or chip inside you.
An abstract - we as a species, will have to move to a global digital currency...if we are to live in Musk's and Klause's AI future...and it is coming. We as humans crave it and romanticize it...just look at our movie industry and the profits they rake in. Humans want the Star Trek utopia. You can't have that, if your currency is not digitally based.
It's the same leap from horses to the combustion engine. There were huge numbers of people who lamented the shift (and rightly so, in some cases - in their time) but it happened...as did all the advancements, that brought us to this level of existence.
The same was true about companies moving from paying workers in cash and checks, to direct deposit. No matter the arguments, refusals or resistance these shifts happened all the same and people fell in line or were left behind. A Global digital currency will be no different, it's just a matter of time and generational indoctrination.
Lastly, if there are people who plan on resisting/refusing, they need to be ready for the consequences, they'll face. Be prepared to house, feed and support yourselves and your families.
You will not be able to barter/trade for the monthly bills, mortgage, gas, etc. Your paycheck will be digital...they are already.
The only hope I see, is if a major Western leader (President/Prime Minister) has the stones to stand and refuse, to convert his/her country's currency. Then you would have a chance, to slow the process and investigate a better version/alternative. But lets be honest with ourselves...who have we seen in a seat of power, that would do that??? In America...don't hold your breath. Besides, the day after that leader said..."we refuse"...they would have an accidental Clinton Suicide.
So what is to be done, if it is inevitable?
-Prepare.
-Pay down/off your bills...the more you owe, the more control they have over you.
-If possible, have those staples, that will be worth something in the barter/trading sub-culture.
-If you can, create like mined communities/networks of people, with which to circumvent the system.
-This is a big one...if you can, infiltrate the system/government and place your own people in key positions, where they will know what's coming and be able to warn the "underground". This is a page from their (globalists) playbook...which has worked well for them, for centuries.