CBDCs, Stablecoins & Digital IDs

The first in a series of articles about pressing topics

The original uploader was TheCadExpert at Italian Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

My current circumstances afford me little time to do what I sense is also important these days: writing. Sharing information and my ideas at this critical juncture in human history with you all. I sense we will all have to make significant choices in the next few months and years. Where are our red lines? What will we be willing to go along with and what won’t we? These are things we need to start figuring out if we haven’t already.

While I won’t be able to dive headlong into all of the topics I’d like to address in this newsletter, I hope, at the very least, these perspectives and resources will inspire further research and self-inquiry.

Today, I’d like to answer one of our community member’s (Francisco) questions regarding stablecoins and Argentina. Since this information will be useful for everyone, I’m responding here instead of in the comments section of a previous post.

The stablecoin—a digital currency created by a private company—that’s being rolled out in Argentina (and other countries) is called Worldcoin. As I mentioned before, stablecoins and private bank-owned digital currencies could become the “gateway drug” to CBDCs, particularly in economically ravaged countries or countries in which there is too much public resistance to the idea of them.

I also sense that large scale Universal Basic Income (UBI) is not too far off, but it will be issued as a CBDC or stablecoin—both of which are programmable (read: controllable) and surveillable digital money—not as cash. CBDCs (and stable coins) tied to a Digital ID will create a system of modern digital slavery for those who participate.

If you don’t understand why I say this or about CBDCs and the dangerous dynamic they’d create between the public and governments, I encourage you to read my article: Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Wet Dream of Aspiring Totalitarians.

Here are some articles for you on the subject:

Cash-strapped Argentines queue for eyeball scans

Worldcoin investment in Argentina increases as services expand

Worldcoin CEO Met With Argentine Government Officials Amidst Ongoing Probes (about current legal challenges)

Worldcoin Expands to Mexico While Argentina Considers Regulation

Kenya has halted Worldcoin operations in the country

To give you some context, one of the co-founders of Worldcoin (company name: Tools for Humanity) is Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, which brought the world ChatGPT. Additionally, there is another Brazilian-based stablecoin company that’s wiggling its way into Argentina at the same time as Worldcoin, but I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me.

What’s interesting is that governments and institutions have been pushing the collection of our biometric data to protect us. Everything in the name of safety. (Sound familiar?) Banks all over have been introducing “Voice ID” as a “security measure” to ensure you’re you. Ironically, the easiest way to steal someone’s identity is in the digital world.

I’ve refused to enroll in Voice ID with my bank. I use “plastic”—i.e. my debit card or prepaid debit cards—only for airline tickets and very few, limited online purchases. Everything else, I pay for in cash. If I enter a business that refuses to accept cash, I walk right out. All businesses in the United States are required by law to accept legal tender. (Read: they cannot refuse cash.) I’m not sure if there are legal equivalents in Europe, but while I’m here, I maintain the same personal ethics.

Since the circumstances of my life have pushed me offline (and off the phone) in ways I didn’t anticipate this past year, I’ve spent almost all of my time in the 3-D world, face to face with other humans or alone with my own company. As a result, my red lines have become more clear and my commitment to remaining human (not becoming a total cyborg) stronger than ever. For example, if we are ever required to have a Digital ID to use the internet, as the WEF’s Partnership Against Cybercrime would like us to, I’ll walk away from the digitial world altogether, even if it means living like the Old Order Amish (sans the strict religiosity). After all, that would mean everything you read or post online would be tied to your government ID and could impact your ability to earn, send, receive or spend money.

(By the way, check out the tyranny the Canadian government has been unleashing on the Amish the last few years: Amish community fined. By linking the aforementioned article, I also just noticed Rumble is blocked in this European country I’m in because it refuses to censor, so I can’t even watch the video at the top of the article. *Eye roll*)

Remember, friends, our skillsets as well as our relationships within our families and communities are two of the most important things for surviving and thriving. The other two are our mental resilience and physical health. These are the truest forms of wealth that we can all develop for ourselves. They will help us meet our basic needs and weather the uncertain times ahead.

This is only a fraction of what I wanted to write today, but family commitments beckon. I hope to catch you all again soon.