CBDCs threaten our future, so it’s time to take a stand

cointelegraph.com:

If the development of blockchain technology was a financial revolution, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are the counter-revolution. Their development has intensified in 2023 across the globe, and it’s now more important than ever for the world to know what could lay behind the acronym.

While there are some who think central banks can be trusted to proceed, the facts stand against them. This technology would give central banks unprecedented control, could pose serious security risks and is also entirely unnecessary.

If you understand blockchain, you also understand the privacy dangers inherent in government-issued digital currencies. Every detail of every transaction would be available to state regulators, such as tax authorities. In the United Kingdom’s case, the tax agency would not require any additional legal powers to examine all the details of every CBDC transaction.

Some might say that these powers wouldn’t be used. However, these investigatory powers don’t just exist — they are used and abused. Take the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, introduced in the U.K. to deal with threats from terrorism. Before long, local councils were using the new powers to spy on people walking dogs, feeding pigeons and dumping waste.

Related: UK think tank launches a crusade against ‘surveillance’ CBDCs

It’s also a big assumption that state regulators will be able to keep CBDC information confidential. In the U.K., state agencies too often lose data — accounting for 54% of all data breach fines. Not that long ago, HM Revenue & Customs managed to lose the records of 25 million taxpayers.

But the threat from hackers is also significant. The centrally collected data will be a massive honeypot for hackers and the hostile