Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced on July 15 that the government would give out 10,000 baht through digital wallets. Today, Prime Minister Thavisin was removed from office for violating the constitution (albeit, unrelated to the wallet). https://www.cato.org/blog/thailand-uses-digital-wallet-10000-baht-handout

This is a thing?

I’ve been reading the documentation for the digital wallet/CBDC rollout going on in Thailand and I couldn’t help but notice the logo on the coins on the left... I’m not saying someone snuck the Bitcoin logo in the app, but I’ve rarely seen the baht symbol written with two lines.

A big shout out to the legend @Frank Corva for taking the time to feature my book in Forbes. If you're on the fence about the book, Frank provides a great walk through of what it offers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankcorva/2024/08/05/the-world-doesnt-need-central-bank-digital-currencies-cbdcs/

What a week. Today I had the opportunity to speak before the Senate and yesterday I spoke before the House to share my book and discuss the rise of CBDCs. Major thanks goes out to Senator Lummis, the Bitcoin Policy Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute for making these events happen.

"As long as the final decision on the digital euro has not been taken, it makes little sense for the Eurosystem to launch a large-scale public awareness drive." - Deutsche Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel I could not disagree more. People should know what their governments are doing. The need for this transparency is precisely why I have been working with the Human Rights Foundation on the @HRF CBDC Tracker to document CBDC development around the world. Furthermore, the need for transparency is also why I wrote my book to provide everything you need to get up to speed on CBDCs. From the myths to the risks, this book will help you decode what "CBDC" means for the future of money.

CBDC Tracker

A CBDC is a digital national currency. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar whereas, in Nigeria, the...

During @HRF's Dissidents and Dictators podcast, Elisha Maldonado asked a great question: How do CBDCs and Bitcoin compare and contrast? As luck would have it, I addressed this very question on the second page of my book. In short, a CBDC is the opposite of Bitcoin.

I decided to check in on Lebanon's CBDC development. I remembered the central bank was planning to launch one in 2021, but it never came out. Lo and behold, I now see what caused the delay: Banque du Liban governor Riad Salameh left his post and has been sanctioned for running an international corruption scheme. Salameh was the one leading the charge on CBDCs.

Last data from the HRF CBDC Tracker shows 11 countries and the 8 islands that compose the ECCU have launched CBDCs; 39 countries, the Eurozone, and Hong Kong have CBDC pilot programs; and 65 countries, 2 currency unions, and Macao are researching CBDCs.

CBDC Tracker

A CBDC is a digital national currency. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar whereas, in Nigeria, the...

If you have friends who curious about nostr, Roger Huang's guide is definitely a great introduction and guide. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/07/17/your-guide-to-nostr-the-decentralized-network-for-everything/

Out to Freddie New for making the case against CBDCs at the Crypto Revolution Conference!

People aren't using the CBDC in The Bahamas so now the central bank is planning to force banks to distribute it. Unfortunately, this is far from surprising.

There's certainly good reason to celebrate the news of Julian Assange's release. However, it's important to not lose sight of just what has taken place over the years. As Patrick Eddington notes, "The US government’s successful multi-year pursuit of Assange was meant to send a message to any others considering exposing federal government wrongdoing in the national security arena: we will make the story about you, not our crimes, and we will get you, one way or another." So while the news was indeed welcome, there is still much to be done. https://www.cato.org/blog/assange-process-was-punishment

"Do I trust central banks!? God, no! I have lived through 50 years of inflation. Why would the hell would I trust central banks?" If anyone knows who this is, please let him know I'd happily send him a copy of my book on me.