CBDCs Are Cryptofascist Currencies: Ex-Whistleblower Edward Snowden

According to former whistleblower Edward Snowden, CBDCs are cryptofascist currencies and they can negatively impact monetary autonomy so let’s read more in our latest crypto news today.

Edward Snowden responded on Twitter to an article by Cornell Political economist Dr. Eswar Prasad who hypothesized a scenario where the US government could impose a negative interest rate and withdraw money from people’s savings directly. Snowden outlined his concerns and said that people will lose their monetary autonomy that way. The NSA consultant turned whistleblower Edward Snowden said that the central bank digital currencies or CBDCs are cryptofascist currencies and could cause to annihilate the savings of every wage-worker in the country.

What is a Central Bank Digital Currency, you ask? Oh, you know: just a "useful policy tool" for casually annihilating the savings of every wage-worker in the country if they don't spend them fast enough. https://t.co/TAKQCEDcOX

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 9, 2021

Snowden started his attack against CBDCs as they are backed by the monetary reserves of a central bank in a response to the article written by Eswar Prasad. Dr. Prasad outlined the growing movement towards a cashless economy which is signaled by the trials of CBDCs in countries like Sweden, Japan, Britain, and China as well as the European Central Bank which already warned countries that the tech sector could outpace governments if they don’t start preparing their own CBDCs.

A CBDC is a perversion of cryptocurrency, or at least the founding principles and protocols of it—a cryptofascist currency, expressly designed to deny you the basic ownership of your money by installing the State at the center of every transaction. https://t.co/720SYvqzZM

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 9, 2021

Snowden highlighted a portion of the article where Dr. Prasad theorized that if the American economy is in dire straits, the Federal Reserve already shrunk the interest rate that is controlled to zero saying  “the Fed could [then] impose a negative interest rate by gradually shrinking the electronic balances in everyone’s digital currency accounts.” It’s worth noting that when inflation is low, the negative interest rates can encourage borrowing and spending to encourage the interest rates and climb back up. Since holding physical cash is expensive, there’s secure storage space to consider like a bank. While this could work for commercial banks, Snowden saw Prasad’s piece as an ominous piece for regular savers under a new regime for CBDCs arguing that the currencies will be a useful policy tool for casually annihilating the savings of every wage-worker in the country if they don’t spend them as fast.

Snowden elaborated his CBDC concerns and called them  “a perversion […] of the founding principles and protocols of cryptocurrency—a cryptofascist currency, an evil twin entered into the ledgers on Opposite Day, expressly designed to deny its users the basic ownership of their money and to install the State at the mediating center of every transaction.”

Snowden is not alone in his cynicism against CBDC. Back in August, more than 2500 British adults participated in a survey and it showed that 24% of them believe CBDCs will be a net positive for society while 30% believe they will do more harm than good.