CBDC: Governments’ Tool for Mass Control – Joe Rogan Podcast Guest

Key Insights:

• Guest Maajid Nawaz called CBDCs a threat to financial freedom as government can control and track it
• Many contra-crypto countries have been at the forefront of CBDC development and issuance
• China was the first to introduce CBDC at a mass scale, and considering their reputation, it raises concern about CBDCs

As the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) worldwide proliferates, concerns regarding the same are rising as well.

And as per Maajid Nawaz, these CBDCs will become the biggest threat to individual privacy and financial freedom.

Central Bank “Danger” Currency

Maajid Nawaz, founding chairman of counter Islamist extremism think tank – Quilliam, recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

There he talked about a critical aspect of CBDCs, which has been discussed by the crypto community as well. That aspect is centralization.

Since, unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are government-controlled, issued coins, they lack the decentralization that comes with the likes of Bitcoin.

Suggesting the same, Maajid Nawaz stated that the most significant reason behind the political support for CBDCs is that it is controllable. He said:

“What they want to do is bring in this thing called the central banking digital currency. They want to replace fiat paper money with digital money as a competitor to bitcoin and crypto money. But instead of being a decentralized currency, it will be controlled by the government.”

Many countries, including the UK, where Nawaz hails from, have been forthright about the prospects of CBDCs.

The first major country to launch it was China when it introduced e-CNY during the Winter Olympic Games held in Beijing. Their response there was nothing short of surprising when CBDC transactions exceeded Visa transactions.

Although it may appear appealing, one should remember that the entire control sits in the hands of the government. This means that everything and everywhere CBDCs are used can be tracked by the government and used as per their need.

This kind of control threatens financial freedom more than fiat does at the moment. As a result, many countries that in the past weren’t supportive of crypto have recently been pushing for CBDCs.

Such countries include Russia, India, the United States, Zimbabwe, Singapore, and China, among others.

Nawaz speaking on the topic of the government’s control over financial freedom and talking about CBDCs, stated:

“It’s (CBDCs) not money, it’s vouchers.”

Do These Words Hold Value?

Joe Rogan is one of the most famous faces, not only in the entertainment industry but also in the crypto industry.

Guests, including Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, have been very vocal about crypto. Rogan himself has never shied away from talking about it as he is also an enthusiast.

Maajid Nawaz, on the other hand, is also a well-known name in the British political space.

Being a columnist, radio show host, author, and more, Nawaz has gained prominence for his opinions. Thus considering both the personalities, their words do hold some weight.

And looking at the broader view about CBDCs, some concern here does make sense.