ECB board member Piero Cippollone has already given 9 speeches and 3 interviews on the digital euro this year. The ECB propaganda machine is in full swing.

CBDC Tracker

A CBDC is a digital national currency. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar whereas, in Nigeria, the...

The HRF CBDC Tracker has it all: countries, currency unions, territories, and more. Find out what's happening in your region before it is too late.

CBDC Tracker

A CBDC is a digital national currency. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar whereas, in Nigeria, the...

Again and again, central bankers openly say that CBDCs will bring the end of cash. https://www.cato.org/blog/will-cbdcs-mark-end-cash

If any friends live in the West African Monetary Union, the central bank is looking for CBDC research. The prize money is all yours, but I'll happily help with your research.

Interesting... The ECCU stresses that it wanted to run “not just conduct a pilot but to run a live deployment” with “real money” and “real users” in “real time.” But the labels on this timeline call it a pilot again when it came to shutting down the CBDC.

Want to work at the Cato Institute but don't see a job listing that fits your work? Alex Nowrasteh has announced that Cato is now accepting job proposals. The Innovation Project will select 2–3 applicants on a rolling basis for full-time positions at a minimum salary of $100,000 and full benefits to work for at least 2 years on their projects at Cato. https://www.cato.org/blog/apply-cato-innovation-project-create-own-job-cato-institute

One of the most egregious pieces of the Bank Secrecy Act is how Congress has defined "financial institution" to include an ever-growing list of pawn shops, car dealerships, and even the postal service. Take this May the Fourth to stop the empire and reclaim your freedom.

Nostr really is a magical thing. One of my apps has a bug so instead of being stranded waiting for an update, I can just open another app and not miss a thing.

The Deutsche Bundesbank says it needs a CBDC because Visa and Mastercard "could be turned off upon instruction" by the US government. Sounds like what they really need is Bitcoin.

In a room full of law enforcement, I was the only person to raise my hand when former FinCEN director Bill Fox asked if anyone "actually believes" bad people deserve privacy. I said I believe the Constitution applies to every American, and the Fourth Amendment provides the framework for breaking through the right to privacy when an investigation justifies it. Sadly, that seemed to fall on deaf ears.

What you see as you leave after EU officials deny your information request. View article →

Another government entity refuses to tell me what its CBDC plans are. This time, it's the ECB. First, they refused because I'm not a European citizen. Then, when a European citizen asked, they refused because sharing their plans would harm their interests. View article →

America has increasingly moved in favor of legalizing cannabis consumption, but the shadow of prohibition still hangs over even the freest of states. One need only look to the financial system to see how heavy that shadow truly is. https://www.cato.org/blog/considering-safe-banking-cannabis-industry

One of the saddest things about this experience is that most people have no idea how much capital gains can take from you until they get hit hard by it.

Imagine every swipe of your card turning into a tax form. That’s what happens when spending Bitcoin. If you buy a coffee with Bitcoin, the government makes you pay capital gains taxes on top of sales taxes. Spending Bitcoin daily can turn into 70 pages in tax filings. It's time to put an end to this mess.

What's the big expected result of the Bank of Korea testing its CBDC? Accelerating financial surveillance.

Never a dull moment at Pubkey

Excited to finally attend BTC Prague, and as a speaker no less!

Absolutely wild exchange. Rep Himes says, as lead Dem on intelligence oversight, that the NSA isn't surveilling Americans. Someone points out that Congress already confirmed the NSA is actively surveilling Americans. Rep. Himes says he didn't know.

In other news, I’m suing the government for covering up its plans to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC). https://www.cato.org/blog/why-im-suing-government