Colombian President Gustavo Petro will begin his first 10 days in office with big plans to roll out a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and “make transactions easier for the consumer”.
With a CBDC, a ‘good citizen’ can get a loan with the least of qualifications as they will have demonstrated admirable qualities like patriotism, trustworthiness, prompt payment, hard work, respect for national laws.
Privacy advocates get spooked when CBDCs are mentioned but if an Orwellian nightmare were fated it is long overdue. We have cameras everywhere and surveillance is the rage. Surveillance abounds because it sees big business. Literally.
It sees people. Consumers. Customers. Clients. 24/7.
Smartphones today have up to 5 cameras each. Watches, cars, computers, buildings, all have cameras. It is the way to be smart and to harvest the ultimate data type – images.
Perhaps we can tolerate a little more oversight?
Petro, however, is not mean. Bitcoin(BTC) has just as much permission to exist as he hopes his country folk will stop going the way of infamous crime boss Pablo Escobar, to focus their business interests on “Bitcoin(BTC) mining and not cocaine”.
With a CBDC working alongside Bitcoin(BTC), it is easier for the government to confiscate Bitcoin(BTC) as KYC data will be demanded to feed the CBDC appetite, which will follow the pseudonymous trail left on KYC exchanges.
Slightly possible for the country is mitigating the disaster of inflationary cycles IF the CBDC is actually used for lending of last resort. Because it is extremely fast, it can dodge losses much quicker than the usual fiat. But this will require angelic morality, and trusting banks some more.
For honesty, CBDCs can be inflated much easier and much faster than credit or paper fiat, and can be printed out of existence as quickly as they are printed in – with the touch of a button. Disappearing people’s wealth like *thanos snap* that.
Should the Colombian people trust their new President not to abuse his self-inspired CBDC?
Well, I guess they will find out very soon.
