I'm excited to start sharing my long-form content here. To kick things off, here's a brief introduction to my latest paper explaining how the Federal Reserve (and the US government at large) has slowly taken over payment services.
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Nick Anthony
EconWithNick@verified-nostr.com
npub1n2m8...gflr
Research Fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and Fellow at the Human Rights Foundation. Covering CBDCs, financial privacy, and cryptocurrency. Opinions are my own.
If you're curious about how the Fed has routinely undermined the private sector for over 100 years, check out my latest paper with the Cato Institute.
Cato Institute
Reforming the Federal Reserve, Section 7: A Glance at Interventions in Payment Services
The Fed never should have taken over these payments services. It’s time to end the Fed’s involvement and return these functions to the private ...
New study finds "more authoritarian jurisdictions have higher probabilities of developing and advancing their CBDC projects."
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/634806467/Stablecoins.pdf
In other words, "We find that if we show people propaganda, they like the state more."
Maybe it’s just me, but seeing that the Bank of England can’t build a functioning menu bar doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for the digital pound.
Luckily, the @HRF CBDC Tracker has you covered if you want all the latest information.
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...
"The problem with this widespread reporting, and the consequent surveillance that arises from it, is that there is little we can individually express without spending money." - L0la L33tz
The Rage
A Human Rights View On Finance
This article is part of a six-part educational series in cooperation between The Rage and the non-custodial, peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange Vexl.
"...
You can just build things.
For those who weren't there, here is my full talk from the Oslo Freedom Forum where I dug into the rise of CBDCs and the importance of building alternatives.
Bitcoin as it was intended: "Peer-to-peer, face-to-face, friend-to-friend" and no one in between.
Props to Lea and the whole Vexl crew for making the original mission of bitcoin (and financial privacy) easier for everyone to take part in.
I'm grateful to @calle for giving the @HRF CBDC Tracker a shout out at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
Definitely check out Calle's full talk below at around 5:41:00
https://www.youtube.com/live/NVPhJ0aCKOw?si=wtK25za7P5iqiPz4&t=20496
And if you have not seen it, be sure to check out the CBDC Tracker as well for the latest information on 135 different jurisdicitions.
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’re not in Oslo, you can watch the livestream of the Freedom Tech track below.
Check it out for discussions on Nostr, Bitcoin, CBDC, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/live/NVPhJ0aCKOw?si=_drDoiXLnbPa6PJ1
According to the @HRF CBDC Tracker, more than 138 governments are working on CBDCs.
Sadly, that is not an April fool's joke. Despite widespread criticism, many governments continue to push forward.
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...
ANZ Group CEO told Fiji's central bank to create a CBDC because, "If it goes to Bitcoin, you’ve lost control."
But it goes deeper than just Bitcoin FUD.
He says all of cryptocurrency is a problem.
Yet in a seemingly 180-degree flip: he then goes on to cite Australia as an example to follow because ANZ launched a stablecoin that resulted from the Reserve Bank of Australia's CBDC research.
Yes, that's right.
After saying bitcoin and cryptocurrency is bad, he went on to propose the government help him create his own cryptocurrency in the form of a stablecoin.
The good news here is that the Reserve Bank of Fiji did not find this argument to be persuasive.
Whether that changes is to be seen, but be sure to check out the @HRF CBDC Tracker for the latest updates.
He says all of cryptocurrency is a problem.
Yet in a seemingly 180-degree flip: he then goes on to cite Australia as an example to follow because ANZ launched a stablecoin that resulted from the Reserve Bank of Australia's CBDC research.
Yes, that's right.
After saying bitcoin and cryptocurrency is bad, he went on to propose the government help him create his own cryptocurrency in the form of a stablecoin.
The good news here is that the Reserve Bank of Fiji did not find this argument to be persuasive.
Whether that changes is to be seen, but be sure to check out the @HRF CBDC Tracker for the latest updates.
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...
As documented in the @HRF CBDC Tracker, central bankers leading CBDC projects have been slowly ousted for corruption. If central bankers can’t resist abusing their existing powers, they should not be granted tools that give them even greater powers.
Human Rights Foundation
Corruption Trails CBDC Projects in China, Nigeria, and Lebanon
I’m pleased to announce that the @HRF CBDC Tracker won not one, but two Anthem Awards! The tracker won the Silver and the Community Voice awards for best use of data in a campaign for human rights and civil liberties.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
For two years, both Represntative French Hill and I have been trying to uncover the DOJ's CBDC legislative analysis.
Yet, despite my FOIA request and Rep. Hill's letter to AG Garland, we've received nothing but silence. https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-doj-keeps-cbdc-legislation-secret-cato-rep-hill-seek-answers
Interesting. What the central bank of Slovakia features on its homepage depends on whether you select English (first image) or Slovak (second image translated by Google)
The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee has published a new presentation calling for CBDCs to replace stablecoins, and it couldn't be more wrong.
Cato Institute
Treasury Advisory Committee Calls for CBDCs to Replace Stablecoins
The real lesson from the “wildcat story” is that policymakers must be held accountable.
We are in the final 12 hours of community voting!
Now is the last chance to help push the @HRF CBDC Tracker over the finish line in the Anthem Awards. It's neck and neck so every vote counts.
https://celebrate.anthemawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/human-civil-rights/awareness-categories/non-profit
It's fascinating that upon the BIS leaving Project mBridge, Agustín Carstens felt the need to stress that "mBridge was not created to cater to the needs of the BRICs" and BIS "products [cannot] be used by any countries that are subject to sanctions."
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bis-leave-cross-border-payments-platform-project-mbridge-2024-10-31/