Binance CEO flippant on imposition of CBDCs

CZ, the founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance said on Monday that he saw CBDCs as healthy competition and that they wouldn’t pose a threat to cryptocurrencies.

CZ has long held the view that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are an overall positive for the crypto sector. He says their use by central banks is a strong validation of blockchain technology, and their imposition by governments and their central banks will help the adoption of cryptocurrencies at the same time.

Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon, the boss of Binance said that in his view CBDCs would only do more to validate blockchain technology, and as a result the public would be more open to using digital currencies in all their forms. CZ stated:

“I very much think that the more we have, the better.”

In the past, CZ has held the view that Bitcoin could be banned in order to make way for the government imposition of CBDCs, perhaps similar to what China has done more recently with its ban on crypto transactions and all bitcoin mining.

However, he now believes that CBDCs are just another digital option, and having more choices available is better than less, although he believes that the “walled-garden nature” of CBDCs could be problematic for them.

In an article published earlier today on CoinTelegraph, it was highlighted that 15 countries are currently piloting a CBDC. These included China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden.

It was also noted that other countries (Nigeria, Jamaica, Bahamas, and 8 Carribean Island nations) had already rolled out their CBDCs which are now operating.

Opinion

CZ may just be taking the line that CBDCs are going to be imposed by governments whether we like it or not, and that is admittedly a very practical approach to take.

He also might be right that the potential of cryptocurrencies would far out-weigh any advantages that CBDCs could bring to the table. It could be argued anyway that CBDCs would primarily bring far more advantages to the central banks than they would to the public.

However, one thing is certain. Governments, through the use of CBDCs, have the potential to impose restrictions on the public that have hitherto been impossible due to the programming that can be included within them, and these include obliging citizens to spend rather than save, restricting the purchase of certain items or services, and completely taking away any privacy on purchases.

Many other restrictions and impositions would be possible with CBDCs and therefore this would be up to each individual government as to just how far these might go. Given that the fiat monetary system is on the brink of total failure, why would we need CBDCs anyway?

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.