The Financial Times reports:

What CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency] research and experimentation appears to be showing is that it will be nigh on impossible to issue such currencies outside of a comprehensive national digital ID management system. Meaning: CBDCs will likely be tied to personal accounts that include personal data, credit history and other forms of relevant information.

There are two very important implications here:

1. Central banks will have to kill off private sector cryptocurrencies.

There is just no way that CBs are going to allow private crypto that can provide an end-run around CBDC.

2. And this is not fully appreciated at all. Once a CBDC is established and becomes the method of general exchange, it will be very easy for governments to block any kinds of exchanges it desires to block. In other words, it provides the opportunity for cancel culture and authoritarianism at an entirely new level.

Bottom line: It is not clear why bitcoin was originally created or by whom but may lead to being one of the worst inventions ever created by man.

 -RW