by David Haggith, The Great Recession Blog:
For years, I’ve written about the creeping approach of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a replacement for coin and paper money that will give government much deeper control over you. Now the time has arrived … IN THE US. Yesterday, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published the following notice:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced that its New York Innovation Center (NYIC) will participate in a proof-of-concept project to explore the feasibility of an interoperable network of central bank wholesale digital money and commercial bank digital money operating on a shared multi-entity distributed ledger.
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“Distributed ledger” implies something like a crypto currency, but in this case, a digital currency that is centrally controlled though a ledger the Fed operates that is distributed among all banks. Essentially, the system will allow all banks that are members of the Federal Reserve system to transact their customer’s digital currency on a ledger that works between all banks before they settle through central-bank reserves automatically.
In simple words, the Fed is beginning to work out its operations with actual banks for the introduction of a digital dollar to replace the dollar we now have. However, this digital dollar will be much more integrated with the Fed and Feds than cryptocurrencies are.
The cashless society is becoming real — very, VERY real, very, very fast
A few years ago, I reported in my Patron Posts on China’s roll-out of its test version of a CBDC just before they actually rolled it out. Then this spring, I reported how President Biden had just issued an executive order in March to prepare by November for the early stages of a roll-out of a digital dollar. And now we see it happening.
First, I reported in a Patron Post last March how President Biden had said at a business roundtable,
Now is the time when things are shifting and there’s going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it. We’ve got to unite the rest of the free world in doing it…
— President Joe Biden at a business roundtable on Monday (Real Clear Politics)
Of course, another “new world order” will include a new-world currency at some point to maintain US hegemony, and the president within days made that clear as well. So, in April I wrote another Patron Post saying,
That’s why we finally witnessed this month actual news of the Biden Administration taking a significant step toward the introduction of a US CBDC from the Fed. This month we shifted from an internal central-bank-level discussion to having all government agencies join the conversation during the next six months about actual implementation and how introduction of a CBDC will impact their agency for better or for worse:
“The [executive order] directs the U.S. Treasury, and other federal agencies, to study the development of the new CBDC and report back within 180 days of the potential risks and benefits of a digital dollar. The EO also directs the Treasury Department, Office of the Attorney General and Federal Reserve to produce a ‘legislative proposal’ to create a digital currency within 210 days, about seven months. The digital dollar is coming, and it’s coming quick.
“To be clear, the adoption of a digital dollar by the U.S. government, as Biden intends, would be one of the greatest expansions of federal power ever made. The digital dollar would be much different than a digital version of the existing U.S. dollar. It would also be much different than cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum, which are decentralized. Digital dollars would be traceable and programmable. The Federal Reserve, or some other government agency, would have the ability to create digital dollars at whim. Moreover, the digital dollars could be programmed to have various rules and restrictions governing how and when they are spent….The EO even states the CBDC and other policies governing digital assets must mitigate “climate change and pollution” and promote ‘financial inclusion and equity.’” (Economic Prism)
All the things I warned about in these Patron Posts, while saying they would be awhile, yet, in coming, are now slated by the president of the United States to be established in law this year.
“Epocalypse Revisited Part Four: The Cashless Society and the New Digital Dollar Divide. It’s here!“
I was on this well before word of it came out in other mainstream publications like The Hill which didn’t come out with it until late this summer, and then even The Hill noted it was a nearly lone voice when there should be many. As of yesterday, we now have the Federal Reserve testing the operability of a digital currency to proceed the actual roll-out through its most globally influential New York branch.
In Fedspeak, that sounds like this in yesterday’s announcement:
“The NYIC looks forward to collaborating with members of the banking community to advance research on asset tokenization and the future of financial market infrastructures in the U.S. as money and banking evolve,” said Per von Zelowitz, Director of the New York Innovation Center.
To be clear, that means money evolves toward a digital and soon cashless system. They speak, of course, in somewhat generic jargon:
As part of this 12-week project, the NYIC will collaborate with a group of private sector organizations to provide a public contribution to the body of knowledge on the application of new technology to the regulated financial system.
The “regulated financial system” means “the Federal Reserve System.” The New York Innovation Center (NYIC) was launched at the New York Federal Reserve Bank in 2021 to “bridge the worlds of finance, technology, and [Bill Gates’s favorite word] innovation.” In other words it was specifically started in time for the introduction of a Federal Reserve digital currency. It was also established in partnership with the global Bank for International Settlements. (BIS)
The NYIC generates insights into high-value central bank-related opportunities through technical research, experimentation, and prototyping, to drive advancements in central banking and enhance the functioning of the global financial system.
By integrating with the BIS, the new system hopes to solve problems including the movement of cash across borders. For now, this first banking test run is within the US and is only a simulation, but it is part of the process I have been covering for a few years in my Patron Posts. Recently, in August, I wrote that …
I expect a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be phased into actual use in 2023.
“Economic Predictions for H2 2022, Part 3: Battle of the New Currency Competitors“
Well, the testing at bank levels for that rollout just began yesterday, so that train appears to be approaching the station right on time. Some of the major financial institutions participating with this test run are Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, Mastercard and Wells Fargo. Also participating are Bank of New York Mellon, PNC Financial Services, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Truist Financial and U.S. Bancorp.
I also quoted the liberal Hill in that article, which warned about some of the risks and laid out how the Biden administration is charging ahead with implementing a digital currency throughout the US:
Whenever the White House says it is working on a plan that would transform a vital part of the U.S. economy, and that the administration is doing so with the “highest urgency,” it should go without saying that the press should pay close attention to what’s going on…. Even more importantly, the press should eagerly and comprehensively inform the public of the potential risks.
“Biden is planning a new digital currency. Here’s why you should be very worried“
Indeed, it should. But, of course, it did not. That is why you have me. Outside of The Hill, it was mostly crickets all year. Even The Hill noted,
Unfortunately, that’s not happening today, and the effects of the media’s negligence could reverberate for decades to come.
Yes, that claim is from The Hill, a liberal publication. Of course, the March timing of “the highest urgency” that it mentions coincided perfectly with a real-world emergency in March of the Ukraine invasion and all of the globally stressing sanctions that were being developed then in association with the war.
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