CBDCs: An existential threat for crypto?

Central Bank digital currencies or cbdcs Are coming 114 countries around the World are currently working on a digital More efficient version of Fiat money 11 Projects have already launched critics Consider cbdc's to be the Nemesis of Crypto they see it as a dystopian Technology that will allow governments To have total control over people's Finances cbdc Future and I think that people should be Afraid but how much of a threat do cbdcs Pose to our financial freedom and Democratic societies and is there any Chance they will ever replace Cryptocurrencies we try to find out by Sitting down with Naomi Brockwell attack Journalist and privacy Advocate I'm Giovanni in this show we challenge the Ideas that are shaping the world of Crypto in each episode we assess a Crypto narrative a macroeconomic Outlook Or a potential disruptive technology Only the most solid ideas will make it To the other side if you enjoy our show Please consider leaving a like to the Video and subscribing to our Channel So a lot of people tend to still Conflate the concept of cryptocurrencies And cbdc's or Central Bank digital Currencies can you point out the main Differences between these two concepts Sure I mean it's it can get pretty Blurry so I understand why some people

Get confused by it all and it really Depends how it's implemented uh it is The big differentiator for me Cryptocurrency what it stands for is the Decentralization of money it is a Decentralized ledger that basically Enables uncensorable payments uh at Least censorship resistant payments uh It gives people back control of their Money for me Central Bank digital Currencies represent the opposite it Represents the Central Bank uh you know Controlling the money supply people talk About it in terms of like programmable Money so in terms of like the Practical State of money right now I don't think Central bank digital currencies are Going to be that different to the Controlled money supply we currently we Have but there is room for even more Like nefarious activity I think from Governments yeah we have seen that these Technologies are already being Implemented in a number of countries for Example cbdc's has already launched in The Bahamas in Nigeria in Eastern Caribbean we also saw that major Economies like the US and China are Already exploring these Technologies China is already testing it on its Territory but now I would like to ask You what are these specific applications Of cbdcs that make you worry the most Well I think it goes back to that idea

Of programmable money it's the idea that I might have Savings in my bank account That the government could just delete uh If I don't spend it fast enough you know If I Um send money to the wrong person all of That is controlled if I make bad Financial choices I could get penalized Right I think we can look to countries Like China and their social credit System to see some of the ways that this Control is implemented where you know if You get a bad credit score suddenly you Don't get access to certain schools or Different hotels or you can't ride the Fast train if you're going across the Country and and it it's really is just a Way for the government to control People's lives in different areas of Their lives okay but now we're talking About China so it's in authoritarian Regime and it's of course natural that They are applying cbdc's for Authoritarian purposes but what about Western countries Western democracies Like the US like Europe don't you see The possibility that the cbdc is Deployed in this context can reflect the Values of democracy and freedom that our Societies are largely based on I think whether it's possible and Whether it's likely uh I've got to be Very different questions if we look at How these so-called Western democracies

Are treating The Current financial System I can I expect that we'll see Something very similar with cbdc's and Our current Financial system is Completely surveilled you cannot open a Bank account you cannot move money Electronically without having all kinds Of IDs requested of you all kinds of Personal information collected it is Just not possible to use these payment Rails uh in an anonymous way in a Private way at all it used to be but Suddenly I think we're like frogs in Boiling water we just kind of get used To these surveillance tools ramping up And we don't really notice when we Suddenly get to a stage where everything Is surveilled I think that these Governments pay a lot of lip service to Privacy and these ideals of freedom I Just don't buy it and I don't see from Their actions that they're standing by These convictions we have people like Assange you know been to detained for Over 10 years now for journalism yet we Talk about Free Speech we talk about all The freedoms that we're enabling here Like yes I'm not going to say that we're As bad as China absolutely not I look at What's going on in China and my heart Breaks for the people there the how Surveilled they are but I don't think Western so-called democracies are that Far behind now let's talk about the

Upsides or the potential upsides of Cbdcs so this technology is aimed at Offering seamless fast Safe transactions to people and they Combine basically the speed of Cryptocurrencies with the let's say Stability and value that offer Fiat Currencies also they will be accepted Everywhere within the country that Accepts them so no cryptocurrency at the Moment at least that I'm aware of can Offer these upside so how can crypto Compete with this technology in the long Run and there's a lot to unpack there Um let's start off by you talking about These instant transactions that will Happen I think for the average person They're not going to care they're not Going to see the difference between what They currently can do with their credit Card and with PayPal and whatever not And what cbdcs will offer as far as the Average user is concerned they're making Instantaneous transactions already they Don't understand that the financial System operates on credit and they're You know it takes several days sometimes Longer for money to clear from their Point of view the money left their bank Account they bought the you know Chocolate milk at the grocery store and They're golden so I think for most People they're just not going to see the You know the benefits of this

Instantaneous transactions Um the next thing is I like I don't Think that competing for those things is The value proposition of cryptocurrency People I mean we had we had the upper Hand in the early days like when I first Started making videos about Cryptocurrency around like 2013 you know The the Electronic tools that we had in the Traditional Financial system were pretty Bad and so crypto did provide this hope Of a better system that was faster and It was cheaper and all of this stuff but Honestly electronic payments have gotten Way better uh in traditional Finance Since then and crypto it it can Absolutely not compete uh right now for Me the value proposition of crypto is Not competing on those grounds it's Having control of your own money it's Being your own bank it is having the Ability to make a digital payment with An element of privacy Um for me you know I like the idea of Using money where every transaction Isn't monitored and tracked and where It's not all kept in some database and Some permanent record attached to my Real identity you know in some NSA Government uh data center I was Wondering why can't these two Technologies coexist so cryptocurrencies And cbdc's uh people that care about

Privacy can use cryptocurrencies while People that just care about convenience Then they can just use cbdc's don't you See this as a potential working scenario Yeah that's absolutely what's going to Happen I do see a world where you're Going to have this normal Market you're Going to have this gray Market I think The gray Market is going to increasingly Grow it is going to get larger and Larger where a lot of day-to-day Transactions just move over to that Crypto Market because you know if it's a Choice between the surveilled system and This non-surved system I think people Don't like surveillance but then again People do like convenience Um and so there is going to still remain This controlled Market I think that's Fine for me it's not about forcing People to use this decentralized system It's about saying you have a choice and You can make up your own mind according To your own value Um system so this year the crypto Industry has been shaken by a number of Crashes like big companies that have Crashed they went to they went bankrupt We saw FDX lately collapsing so trust in The ecosystem has been heavily Undermined How do you think the turmoil of this Year has impacted the development of Cbdc's if in any way right

Never like a crisis code I think that A lot of politicians are going to use This momentum of all these people Getting hurt in the crypto space to try To push forward cbdcs to try to push for More forward more financial control and Regulations that's absolutely going to Be the outcome of this but I hope that For all the people who do understand This technology that they're looking at This and they're realizing what the Future is I mean the future is Decentralization where you don't need to Rely on the centralized entities where You don't need to trust a CEO if you can Read the code and I think once people Once their perception shifts and they Realize that they can have more faith in Their money being there if you can see Proof of reserves and it's all just Determined by the code which is Completely transparent I mean that's a World I want to live in I want to live In that transparent world where people Can get this information for themselves And we're not dealing with you know Shadowy power Brokers who are paying Politicians behind closed door hours so Despite the criticism of privacy Advocates like you like other crypto Enthusiasts it seems that cbdc's Initiatives are being pushed forward by Governments all around the world they

Don't seem they're going to stop and so What do you think are cbdc's inevitable And if so what should civil society and Crypto enthusiasts and just regular People do to prepare for the Advent of This technology They're absolutely coming it is Inevitable uh cbdc's are definitely our Future and I think that people should be Afraid people should be very afraid of This very controlled Financial system That is even more controlled than the Current Financial system I think that if People want to prepare themselves find Ways to disengage from the system Already I mean where I live there's a Robust community of people who you know Make everyday purchases in Cryptocurrency people often think that Oh this is something that I keep in my Bank account never spend it's like well I know a lot of people who no longer Keep US dollars in their bank account They're all in on crypto they're earning Crypto they're spending crypto they're Buying their groceries with crypto it's Completely possible no matter where you Are in the world right now to live Entirely on crypto if you want to I Understand why a lot of people don't Want to because it's volatile you know We haven't figured that one out yet Um but if you want to opt out of a Surveillance system you absolutely can

Right now maybe you haven't KY seed Collection of cryptocurrency it's not Illegal to do that you can purchase Cryptocurrency off friends so maybe Start to acquire on kyc cryptocurrency That is not tied to you or your IP Address or any of your personal Identifiers like your email or whatever Just start to build that I would also Say even if you're not using crypto Every day for every single thing you do Familiarize yourself with the tools out There that would enable you to do this Yeah definitely I think the people Watching our conversation today got some Valuable information on the importance Of financial Independence Financial Autonomy and freedom so yeah thanks a Lot Naomi for being on our show I look Forward to see you again thank you so Much for chatting with me I really Enjoyed it