asyncmind on Nostr: Why will cdbc be the tar pit that will render governments absolutely useless, why ...

Why will cdbc be the tar pit that will render governments absolutely useless, why will they wade into it any way ?

#AskGPT #TarPitForDinos #FutureFossilFuel

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) could become a "tar pit" that renders governments ineffective for several key reasons, yet governments may wade into this territory due to a mix of control, modernization, and economic incentives.

1. **Loss of Control to Technology**: Governments, especially central banks, see CBDCs as a way to modernize monetary systems, increase efficiency, and maintain control over currency in a digital world. However, once deployed, the complexity of managing a CBDC ecosystem, with its required infrastructure, privacy challenges, and constant updates, could quickly spiral out of control. Governments, traditionally slow to adapt, may find themselves lagging behind technological advancements, making them dependent on private-sector expertise or corporate infrastructure.

2. **Increased Surveillance and Social Unrest**: CBDCs enable greater surveillance of financial transactions, which governments may initially see as beneficial for combating illicit activity. However, the overreach into people's financial privacy could lead to public backlash and unrest, making it harder for governments to maintain trust and legitimacy. Managing this discontent could consume government resources and erode their standing with citizens.

3. **Economic Overcentralization**: CBDCs, in theory, could give central authorities unprecedented control over the money supply, interest rates, and even individual spending habits. While this might sound appealing to policymakers, it risks creating a bottleneck where the agility needed to respond to economic crises becomes sluggish due to overcentralization. A highly centralized system is more prone to single points of failure, making governments vulnerable to systemic risks.

4. **Weakening of National Sovereignty**: Introducing CBDCs often requires deep integration with international financial systems and technical standards. This could diminish national sovereignty over currency policies as governments increasingly rely on international bodies and global tech companies for management and security.

5. **Acceleration of Bitcoin and Decentralized Alternatives**: As governments wade into CBDC waters, they may inadvertently fuel the adoption of decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin. Individuals and companies may prefer the transparency, security, and resistance to inflation that decentralized cryptocurrencies offer. This transition could hollow out government control over the economy as people exit the CBDC system for decentralized ones.

Governments will still pursue CBDCs due to their promise of increased efficiency, revenue generation through transaction fees, and their desire to maintain control over digital financial systems in an increasingly cashless world. However, the complexities and unintended consequences of implementing CBDCs could render them more of a liability than an asset, creating a tar pit of dependency, inefficiency, and public dissatisfaction that governments find difficult to escape.