DANGEROUS' DIGITAL DOLLAR Warning ‘Fedcoin’ is coming
Alex Diaz
15:55 ET, Mar 10 2022Updated: 15:59 ET, Mar 10 2022
A NEW "Fedcoin" digital currency could replace cash, hurt savers and allow the government to track payments, crypto experts have warned.
President Joe Biden announced the move towards a US Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on Wednesday in a historic executive order on cryptocurrency regulation.
President Joe Biden announced historic moves towards a Central Bank Digital Currency in an executive order on Wednesday. Experts have warned about the dangers of CBDCs but believe they may strengthen the position of the original cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
He gave the heads of federal agencies including the Treasury, Justice Department and Homeland Security 180 days to come up with a report on how the new digital currency would work.
Biden also asked the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell to “develop a strategic plan for Federal Reserve and broader United States Government action” on CBDCs. It comes as governments around the world are scrambling to respond to the explosion in cryptocurrencies which are not state-controlled. But experts say there are worries the new CBDCs could pose a threat by allowing the government to program money to control how and by who it is spent.
Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation and a well-respected voice in the Bitcoin community, told The Sun: “I'm concerned because there's a lot of language about Central Bank Digital Currencies in the executive order and I think they are dangerous for civil liberties. "It looks like Fedcoin is coming and I don't think that'll be good for the average American.
“Fedcoin would replace cash, it would replace paper money and coinage.
“It would permit instant analysis of transactions, as opposed to the privacy that cash affords.
“It would also obviously allow for blacklisting of people that the government doesn't like, which I'm sure would rotate through different administrations.
“These are concerning powers and they would also permit monetary powers that are concerning.
“Just like withdrawing from an ATM gives you the power to be private with your spending, withdrawing from an ATM also gives you the power to save in different ways.
“And if you don't have an ATM, the government will be very easily able to do things like negative interest rates, expiration dates on money, stuff like that.
“I don’t think it's gonna be great for savers, let’s put it that way.”