Bank of England to Open “Digital Pound Lab”

 The Bank of England announced yesterday that they will be launching a “digital pound lab” to “experiment” with different “use-cases” and set-ups of the UK’s planned Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

This signals the end of the “consultation and response phase” and the beginning of the “design phase”, according to the BoE’s website.

This is the first real news on the digital currency front for some time.

In fact, after an action-packed 2023 saw at least 135 of the world’s 197 nation states developing a digital currency, things have been eerily quiet on that front. Some nations – including Japan and Canada – have paused or even entirely scrapped CBDC development.

Even the Bank of England’s announcement of the lab contains much softer language than the previously energetic and enthusiastic endorsements of digital currency. Noting the CBDC would be “used alongside banknotes” instead of replacing them, and that “No decision has been made on whether to proceed with a digital pound.”...<<<Read More>>>...

Central banks create DIGITAL TOTALITARIANISM through CBDCs

In a troubling development, several nations are implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) linked to comprehensive digital ID systems, raising serious concerns among privacy advocates and citizens alike.

Critics argue that these initiatives are laying the groundwork for a global surveillance state. Individuals who refuse to comply could face severe consequences. Privacy coin advocate Aaron Day, who appeared on "The Alex Jones Show" on InfoWars on Wednesday, Dec. 18, is among those voicing alarm. He warned that mandatory enrollment into digital ID systems and CBDCs could mark the end of financial freedom as we know it.

"The whole point of what's going on with CBDCs is a movement toward a single, global digital currency and a complete surveillance state," Day told the Health Ranger Mike Adams, who was the program's guest host for the episode. "All of our transactions are monitored and our behavior is tied to a social credit score."

These concerns are backed by recent developments in countries like Vietnam and Kuwait, where citizens are being compelled to register their biometric data. Non-compliance could result in the loss of access to bank accounts and government services. ...<<<Read More>>>...

Is it Too Late to Escape From the Tyranny of Central Digital Control?

In an increasingly cashless society and with the Government pushing ahead with a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), offering the state total surveillance possibilities combined with the potential for “programming” money to be used only in certain ways, the issue of financial surveillance and control is only going to become more urgent. 

And all this even without Tony Blair again popping up to float mandatory Digital ID cards as the cure-all, this time for immigration. 

You don’t have to think very hard to see the potential of a mandatory, centralised digital ID system run by the state to be the precursor to a Chinese-style “social credit” system. Indeed, we had a primitive version of such a system during Covid in the shape of vaccine passports, which controlled our access to parts of society based on our willingness – or not – to follow the state’s “recommendations”. You can throw in pay-per-mile road user charging (which can only mean information gathered about your every movement), a dollop of psychological “nudge” theory and technocratic management by algorithm while you’re at it. It doesn’t take a genius to see the dangers of this emerging panopticon combined with Blair’s “one Government ID to rule them all”....<<<Read More>>>....