From forcing people to spend their money to making them save it, central banks around the world could soon use CBDCs to create a dystopian nightmare.
During the financial difficulties of 2007-2008, many people no longer trust traditional financial organizations and switch to alternative currencies such as digital currency. This is a way for us to maintain his wealth, freedom and privacy in a system that makes them sad. However, the rise of digital money (CBDC) in the central bank has caused serious concerns about personal privacy and freewheeling.
One of CBDC's biggest concerns is the decline of group polarization. At this stage, cash payment brings the security and anonymity needed by financial arbitrariness. People can buy and sell transactions with cash without leaving a written imprint, which is also a basic right of citizens in a democratic society. However, the introduction of CBDC may change this.
CBDC will have a thorough traceability system, which means that every transaction will also be regulated by the central bank's data records. This will enable central banks to regulate and manipulate financial transactions in a form that is unlikely to be completed. Although this sounds like a proactive trend, it raises serious concerns about personal privacy and civil liberties.
By examining the response of government departments to the world's financial woes, we can also understand the potential negative and adverse effects of CBDC. For example, in the wake of the crisis, government departments around the world have established existing policies to dissuade support for terrorist organizations and combat money laundering. Unfortunately, this requirement is usually at the expense of everyone's rights and personal privacy.
For example, the Russian government has cleverly used the compliance management structure to promote overall goals that have nothing to do with cracking down on terrorist organizations and organized crime. However, the research shows that the Russian government uses AML rules and regulations to expand its awareness of domestic political and commercial development strategies and tries to reorganize the financial system. The inefficiency of compliance rules and the overall legitimacy used to secretly weaken the party.
The Patriot Act of 2001 led to the abuse of power and civil liberties in the United States. According to the Electronic Devices personal Privacy Network Information Center, only between 2002 and 2004, the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of investigation discovered 13 cases of alleged misconduct in the intelligence and information practice of the Federal Bureau of investigation.
In addition, some existing policies in response to the epidemic crisis have led to restrictions on personal financial-themed activities. For example, some China implements foreign exchange controls, trying to limit the liquidity of cross-border e-commerce assets and stabilize their financial management system. For example, as a report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in November 2022 shows, "eNaira's personal or merchant wallet"-Nigeria's CBDC-- "has different restrictions on daily trading volume and eNaira holdings, depending on the level of due diligence of his customers."
The increase in restrictions on our daily accounting holdings and expenses may seriously erode personal privacy and freedom, and have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression and economic dissent.
In addition, central banks can use CBDC to implement liquidity traps, which will encourage people to pay rather than save. This may lead to soaring inflation in consumer services, which in turn is likely to undermine stable economic growth. All this will lead to some technical tests. For example, setting a limit on an individual's CBDC holdings may limit the total or total number of payments, because it is important to know the amount of CBDC held by the recipient in order to achieve payment.
In addition to this concern, CBDC will also exacerbate current inequality. For example, people who cannot access Internet technology or digital devices will be shunned by financial system software. This may be applicable to people who are not symbolic enough, such as the elderly, the poor and the rural people. CBDC may lead to a new type of financial resistance, because the central bank may refuse to do business with other so-called high-risk institutions.
For example, the Bahamas introduced sand coins to alleviate the nature of financial conflicts. However, during the period from January 2021 to June 2022, the balance of Sha Yuan's account increased by less than US $300000, while the value of banknotes increased by US $42 million-indicating that Sha Yuan is largely ineligible for payment.
Central banks should carefully consider the harm of CBDC to personal privacy and the relative stability of free finance. In order to ensure that CBDC is established in a way that values the rights of individuals and is freewheeling, they must also consider regular consultations with stakeholders such as businesses, civil society organizations and individuals.
In the final analysis, the rise of CBDC is likely to be a double-edged sword. Government-backed digital currencies may lead to faster, cheaper and healthier deals, but they also bring key issues related to freedom, privacy and financial stability. As you can see in the global financial woes, the overall goal of relative financial stability is likely to be based on individual rights and privacy. Defending individual rights and control should be an important task for central banks when they consider the approach to CBDC.
Guinette Kauer joined Cointelegraph as an editor in 2021. She holds a master of science in financial technology from the University of Stirling and an MBA from India’s Guru Nanak Dev University.