(JustPatriots.com)- During its annual meeting this month, the International Monetary Fund’s Deputy Managing Director Bo Li said central bank digital currencies could improve “financial inclusion” through programmability.
Li explained that a central bank digital currency would permit government agencies and the private sector “to program, to create smart contracts, to allow targeted policy functions.”
Li added that allowing the government to precisely target people’s needs would enable it to “improve financial inclusion.”
However, Li’s comments prompted quick reactions from critics, including Nick Anthony from the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives.
Anthony tweeted that Li’s comments revealed how a central bank digital currency would give governments the power to “precisely control what people can and cannot spend their money on.” He went on to say this is something China would do, but he didn’t think Americans would want it.
Then again, consider the source. Before joining the International Monetary Fund, Li spent years working at the People’s Bank of China.
Anthony also warned that historically, governments have a pattern of abusing tools like these. He cited the recent events out of Canada where Prime Minister Trudeau’s government froze the bank accounts of protesters from the trucker’s convoy.
The Bank of International Settlements found in May that nearly 90 percent of national central banks are planning to launch their own digital currency for release to the public, and that includes the United States.
Critics fear central bank digital currencies will lead to more government control over money and could be used as a tool for financial discrimination and restricting access to funds, not to mention obstructing decentralization which is one of the main advantages of cryptocurrencies.
