War on Cash: Digital Currencies and the Rise of Surveillance Finance

While changes in the current financial system are accelerating, the system’s last gasp is visible on the horizon. In its place is quietly being inserted the new global financial system, the essence of which is digital money and a cashless society. However, this is not the digital money as people commonly understand it; it is not about enhanced credit cards, new bank account features, or fancier applications on mobile phones. Instead, the new digital money is programmable, controllable, and surveillable. It can be turned off. It can even have an expiry date. For some countries, the new financial system will come in the form of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), while for others in the form of stablecoins or other digital formats. This newly planned system will focus on tokenisation of financial and non-financial assets and include digital IDs. Even more concerning is the fact that under the new system, there would be no privacy, anonymity, or financial freedom.