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Digital Dollar is "inevitable", Fedcoin will give government total control
(Kitco News) - Digital, state-issued currency is the "inevitable" next step of our economic evolution, says Cameron Chell, executive chairman of CurrencyWorks, who concedes it can be a "scary proposition."
Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, are currently under development from several major central banks around the world, including the People's Bank of China , the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England.
Recently, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it will take measures to ensure that the U.S. will retain a leadership position in the development of CBDCs, although an American digital dollar, or Fedcoin, would still need congressional approval.
Speaking to Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief of KitcoNews, Chell said that digital dollars,, will eventually be adopted by governments.
"A digital dollar is something that has function far beyond just the transfer of money. So, it's inevitable that national currencies or sovereign currencies will come into effect. It's just too inefficient when you've got some nations that have access to use digital dollars….as opposed to some that won't use it," Chell said.
CurrencyWorks is a financial technology company that builds digital currencies, assets, and NFTs.
Governments can benefit from a digital dollar from saving billions of dollars a year in printing physical bills, but more importantly, it will give authorities more control over the populace with the ability to track the provenance of transactions.
"Fiscal and monetary policy development…tax collection [will be] a game changer. Now, all of a sudden, you've got a decentralized technology being run in a centralized system, you can actually monitor, track, withdraw taxes, supply benefits…all of those things instantly. As a political tool, when you think about being able to invoke or monitor sanctions on companies, or countries, or bad actors, when you've got instant access to wallets, it's an entire new tool that really, we haven't seen the likes of," he said.
Critics of this technology point out that civil liberties would be endangered if the government can monitor every single dollar on the blockchain.
Chell said that this is a step towards tighter control over the money supply, as well as a transition towards a cashless society. However, he offers a stark warning.
"Ultimately, it is much more convenient for people to use it as well, so I think adoption is going to become inevitable as well, but if we are not careful with our policies and our laws, we are in for a controlled society," he said.
For more information on what central bank digital currencies mean for Bitcoin and crypto currencies and how they will change financial institutions, watch the video above. Follow Michelle Makori on Twitter: @MichelleMakori
