CBDCs are financial surveillance with better branding. They are being be sold as innovation, convenient and inclusive. Once money becomes programmable, freedom becomes conditional. - Who decides what you can buy? - Who decides where you can spend? - Who decides when your access ends? The Czech Republic knows what centralised power looks like and @BTC Prague has always felt like the right place to talk about bitcoin, cypherpunks and financial freedom. I’ll be moderating a panel on how to defend against CBDCs and surveillance with @Efrat Fenigson , Lea Thompson, Viliam Klamarčík and Tony Yazbeck. Read the article here: See you in Prague.

Replies (7)

Anakhlaan's avatar
Anakhlaan 2 weeks ago
All the right people you named, and I look forward to it. Humble contribtion: just because CBDCs are having kind of a bad rep for the last 3 years or so, now their plan appears to make stable coins function like quasi-CBDC and hope they can get away with it. I, on my behalf, will continue pointing out to this potential risk. All the best to all of you out there. 👍
Totally agree. Stablecoins are a CBDC via the back door. This will be part of the discussion. 🫡
Myntad's avatar
Myntad 2 weeks ago
I choose the orange freedom money.
In early 2023 on @GBNews I warned that central bank digital currencies could become programmable money. Money that can be limited, directed, monitored or linked to policy goals. At the time, many people thought this sounded extreme. The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab is now trialling use cases involving programmable payments and smart contracts. Across the EU, the Digital Euro is moving forward, while member states are required to provide EU Digital Identity Wallets by the end of 2026.  In the UK, digital ID, age verification and the Online Safety Act are all expanding the infrastructure for digital authoritarianism. Financial freedom depends on preserving the ability to transact without permission. Bitcoin is a peaceful way to opt out. Speaking about this on stage at @BTCPrague. Details below. View quoted note →