Snowden warns against 'perversion' of cryptocurrency by the US

Wikileaks founder and whistleblower Edward Snowden has warned against the introduction of the new American Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which he terms as a 'perversion' of cryptocurrency that will be used by the government to deny people the basic ownership of their money."

A CBDC is a legal tender issued by a bank in a digital format. Also known as digital base money or digital fiat currencies, a CBDC is no different from hard cash, apart from the fact that they are in a digital or virtual form.

"Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others—are regarded by both central and commercial banks as dangerous disintermediators; precisely because they've been designed to ensure equal protection for all users, with no special privileges extended to the State," Snowden wrote in an essay posted on his site. He claimed that the CBDC was against the very principles of cryptocurrency which was designed to remove central authority and banks from money transactions.

"Opposition to such free trade is all-too-often concealed beneath a veneer of paternalistic concern, with the State claiming that in the absence of its own loving intermediation, the market will inevitably devolve into unlawful gambling dens and fleshpots rife with tax fraud, drug deals, and gun-running.

"While cryptocurrency has made rapid gains this year, some people are still in doubt due to the absence of an underlying asset or government backing. Many governments are moving cautiously to give it the status of a legal tender. They say they are studying the evolving technology and developing their CBDC, which will be backed by a sovereign guarantee. Terming the banking system as parasitic and inefficient, Snowden claimed that cryptocurrencies were racing ahead in terms of effectiveness and asset privacy. The use of the new CBDC could open up access to monitoring and tracking civilian spending by governments, he asserted.