Much is being said by crypto evangelists about the power of decentralized digital currencies to “liberate” people from the constraints of banks, central banks, and governments, and secure unfettered access to their own money; on the other hand, states are looking to centrally harness that power and regulate it in ways that many others fear would mark the rise or strengthening of authoritarianism.
This specifically concerns many countries around the world either considering or moving toward issuing their own, national, centralized digital money. In part at least, this is a way to regulate the otherwise elusive truly decentralized version of cryptocurrencies. Because of the nature of cryptocurrencies that are based on blockchain as a ledger that records every transaction, governments would have unrestricted and easy access, and “command and control” over when, how, and what people do with their money.
