During the Financial Times’ Crypto and Digital Assets Conference, the director of fintech at the Bank of England (BOE), Tom Mutton, downplayed privacy concerns over a digital pound. He argued that “privacy and anonymity are used synonymously in a way they shouldn’t be.”
Mutton’s word salad appears to be an attempt to push the idea that CBDCs can actually be “private,” by defining privacy in a different way than the general population would.
To him, “privacy” means individuals somewhat have control over their personal data while “anonymity” means no data is available.
As reported by CityAM, Mutton went as far as saying that anonymity is “a public policy problem and something that should not be allowed to continue.”
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have emerged as a popular concept for central banks and politicians that want more centralized control. The promise is that it would “modernize” the financial system.
But privacy enthusiasts express concerns about the implications of CBDCs for personal privacy and financial autonomy.
Privacy advocates worry that CBDCs, which rely on digital ledgers to record transactions, could significantly increase state surveillance capabilities. With every transaction tracked and recorded, central banks and governments could potentially gain unprecedented access to individual financial data. This level of oversight could lead to invasive monitoring of citizens and stifle financial privacy.
