Your bank may soon call asking you to prove your citizenship if this executive order goes through.
https://www.cato.org/blog/know-citizenship-says-trump-banks
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.
Bank of Albania governor says it is "essential to remain aligned with European processes" when asked if Albania will have a CBDC. 
Learn more in the @HRF CBDC Tracker. 
Learn more in the @HRF CBDC Tracker. 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...
It looks like Trump is joining Secretary Bessent in calling for more financial surveillance...
On the bright side, the freedom to transact without having to show your papers is why Bitcoin exists. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-administration-considers-action-requiring-banks-to-collect-citizenship-info-8e26f6d2
That's going to be a no from me.
Ironically, in making the case for greater state involvement, the CD Howe authors completely overlook that it was state regulation that caused the problems during America's free banking era.
Interest payments have dominated the market structure debate. In the process, too few have really taken note of the financial surveillance buried in the bill.
https://www.cato.org/blog/market-structure-brings-market-surveillance
You'd think someone previously convicted of misusing public funds would be more careful about this sort of thing... 
For once, the ECB gets it right. Despite countless speeches saying a CBDC is needed for the euro's international role, it doesn't even make the list of important factors.
Sadly, this was probably just an oversight by the social media manager. But once in a while, you get shown the light.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, one of the most common reasons for filing a suspicious activity report (often abbreviated as SAR) is because someone deposited or withdrew nearly $10,000 in cash. That’s all it takes for you to get labeled as “suspicious” in an official report to the government.
https://www.cato.org/blog/how-suspicious-activity-can-get-you-debanked
Am I the only one who finds the royal we frustrating?
Every time I hear “we did this as a nation,” I find myself thinking “We? I had no part in that.”
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Love should be private,
And money should too.
After hearing opposition to the digital euro, MEP Lukas Sieper suggests that cash is only for criminals so the EU needs a CBDC.
LIVE NOW: ECB President Christine Lagarde says cash can't be used online so Europe needs a CBDC.
Update: The head of the Banque de France is stepping down.
The French Central Bank Is Wrong
In the first 21 days of 2026, the French central bank governor managed to get it wrong on Bitcoin, US history, gold, and CBDCs.
Step 1: Campaign against CBDCs
Step 2: Become President and issue an EO against CBDCs
Step 3: Nominate the one pro-CBDC candidate, Kevin Warsh, for Federal Reserve Chair?
Trump really is the president of contradictions.
The ECB isn't hiding it. Europeans will be forced to use the digital euro.
We've all seen Brian Armstrong set the record straight at the World Economic Forum when the Banque de France governor said he doesn't trust the company running bitcoin.
But did you know that's not the only thing the governor got wrong?
https://www.cato.org/blog/french-central-bank-wrong
Villeroy de Galhau also tried to appeal to history by pointing to the experience of free banking in the United States. He described this era as suffering from “many crises of confidence.”
He did so in an attempt to undermine trust in private money, but the only trust undermined here should be that in governments.
What he didn’t say is that crises occurred during this period in large part because of the laws and regulations in place that made banks unstable.
My colleague, George Selgin, has gone to great lengths to correct this record. The general public may be forgiven for not knowing this history, but central bankers have no excuse.
Villeroy de Galhau then said gold was a “sovereign asset” governed by the state. However, this claim is similarly misleading. The use of gold as money predates legal tender laws.
Villeroy de Galhau took this opportunity to also say that CBDCs are the next evolution of money. If CBDCs are an “evolution” of anything, they reflect the evolution of state control over monetary systems—not a natural progression arising from the market.
Turning away from the forum, Villeroy de Galhau also mentioned his support for CBDCs in his “New Year’s address.”
Curiously, he said, “2026 will see the first central bank digital currency.” Taken as written, this statement is wrong.
The first CBDC was arguably created in 1992. That project died, but CBDCs have seen a resurgence.
China, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia, The Bahamas, and others have all launched CBDCs in one form or another.
So, in the first 21 days of 2026, the Banque de France governor managed to get it wrong on Bitcoin, US history, gold, and CBDCs.
That track record is almost as bad as central banks managing inflation.
Secretary Scott Bessent is building a legacy of financial surveillance and control. The announcement that he is stopping Americans from sending their money abroad and increasing surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act should be condemned.
Yet, it should be no surprise.
Yet, it should be no surprise. It was only just last year that Secretary Bessent increased financial surveillance to target transactions as little as $200. After being sued for this violation of fundamental freedoms, he responded by expanding surveillance to cover even more Americans.
This playbook has been used time after time. When the Bank Secrecy Act was first passed, Congress claimed Americans were hiding money in Swiss bank accounts. Then it was expanded to fight the war on drugs. Then it was expanded again for the war on terror. Now it seems it’s the war on fraud.
Fighting crime is a worthy endeavor. However, we cannot sacrifice the freedoms that make America great in the process.
@HRF asked me to share one of my favorite freedom tech projects. Here's what I had to say about @vexl 😎
While I was limited to just one, I also have to give shout-outs to Skot building Bitaxe, @calle building Cashu, and many more.
The policy front may be depressing at times, but the people building solutions on the ground give me hope.
See what everyone else on the HRF Freedom Tech Team had to say here. 
While I was limited to just one, I also have to give shout-outs to Skot building Bitaxe, @calle building Cashu, and many more.
The policy front may be depressing at times, but the people building solutions on the ground give me hope.
See what everyone else on the HRF Freedom Tech Team had to say here. Human Rights Foundation
Top 15 Freedom Tech Projects of 2025
Looking back on 2025, financial and digital repression under authoritarian regimes continued to grow. But so did the innovation pushing back agains...
I guess there are no days off. The latest in ECB CBDC marketing is a Christmas post from president Christine Lagarde.
To be honest, I would have preferred coal, but here we are... so let me put down the eggnog and break down what's happening here. 
As she noted, the EU Governing Council has given the green light for the digital euro (the ECB's CBDC). In short, the Council said that the digital euro should work both online and offline, have holding limits, allow a "high degree of privacy" while still being AML/KYC compliant, and be free for consumers to use.
This green light from the council does not mean, however, that the digital euro will be launched. Now it's up to the European Parliament to weigh in.
Sadly, though, this process might appear democratic from the outside, but it's really just a formality. It's unlikely that Parliament will alter the course.
As @Efrat Fenigson noted on X, the ECB is just waiting for the Parliament's rubber stamp to move forward.
As CBDC marketing ramps up, it's important to be vigiliant (even on holidays).
As I've noted repeatedly, the ECB's marketing campaign borders on false advertising when it comes to claims about competition and freedom.
https://www.cato.org/blog/digital-euro-isnt-about-freedom
2026 is going to be an eventful year on the CBDC front. And as always, you can find out everything you need to know in the @HRF CBDC Tracker.
As she noted, the EU Governing Council has given the green light for the digital euro (the ECB's CBDC). In short, the Council said that the digital euro should work both online and offline, have holding limits, allow a "high degree of privacy" while still being AML/KYC compliant, and be free for consumers to use.
This green light from the council does not mean, however, that the digital euro will be launched. Now it's up to the European Parliament to weigh in.
Sadly, though, this process might appear democratic from the outside, but it's really just a formality. It's unlikely that Parliament will alter the course.
As @Efrat Fenigson noted on X, the ECB is just waiting for the Parliament's rubber stamp to move forward.
As CBDC marketing ramps up, it's important to be vigiliant (even on holidays).
As I've noted repeatedly, the ECB's marketing campaign borders on false advertising when it comes to claims about competition and freedom.
https://www.cato.org/blog/digital-euro-isnt-about-freedom
2026 is going to be an eventful year on the CBDC front. And as always, you can find out everything you need to know in the @HRF CBDC Tracker.
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...
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but saying "anyone who opposes the digital euro" is effectively an enemy of the state does not exactly inspire confidence that the CBDC won't be abused. 