US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr is warning of the dangers of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) amid the Federal Reserve’s plans to roll out an instant payments system known as FedNow.
Kennedy say that the “digitization of currency” has given the government vast powers to “monitor and control economic life”.
Consequently, the US presidential candidate who announced his candidacy on the Democratic Party ticket last month says he opposes CBDCs, even though he supports Bitcoin (BTC).
“The ability to save and spend without political interference is a prerequisite to exercising meaningful dissent, and I will defend it accordingly. This is not a right or left issue. It is about protecting democracy from powerful vested interests. The digitization of currency has given government unprecedented powers to monitor and control economic life.
That is why I am against CBDCs, which will vastly increase the government’s power to stifle dissent by shutting down access to funds at the touch of a key.
That is also why I support Bitcoin, which allows people to transact without government intervention. Bitcoin has been a lifesaver for people’s movements around the world, especially in Burma.”
According to Kennedy, “financial censorship” can. prevent in the US as well, despite the practice often being associated with authoritarian regimes.
“It’s not weird to imagine that even here in America your bank account could one day be blocked because of your politics or comments you’ve made on social media.
After all, in 2010 Paypal, Visa and Mastercard suspended WikiLeaks, at the behest of the US State Department.
GoFundMe blocked US accounts from sending money to Canadian truck drivers and planned to donate the money to their own charities instead, only backing out if they faced a lawsuit.
PayPal modified their acceptable use policy to fine users $2,500 for spreading what they considered misinformation, a change they withdrew under pressure. Nevertheless, thousands of customers are currently suing PayPal for arbitrary seizure of their accounts.
These are the decisions of private companies, but often those private companies act out of fear of Congress or regulators, or directly on their orders. Their decisions directly affect our rights.”
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