Project Icebreaker - a CBDC Frankenstein brought to life
In what only can be described as a sad day for a Swede and a crypto enthusiast. I would like to sadly announce that the CBDC end is getting closer and closer.
Project Icebreaker
This is what they have decided to call this project. A project between three countries central bans, Israel, Norway and Sweden. As well as the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS. They say that the goal of the project is to explore international retail and remittance payments use cases for central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.
Efficient and accessible cross-border payments are of extreme importance for a small and open economy like Israel and this was identified as one of the main motivations for a potential issuance of a digital shekel -Bank of Israel deputy governor Andrew Abir
While that is very true. That smaller countries face very different challenges than a very large ones. I am still taken aback by the fact that there are so many CBDCs plopping up left and right. And not all of them are in morally questionable countries either. This is a fact I find alarming.
But I guess I have to stop being surprised at things like this. I, as an example, looked into the Swedish CBDS the e-krona. And was surprised to learn they have been developing since 2019. Something that totally has eluded me.
https://twitter.com/BIS_org/status/1575101521259274241/photo/1
After looking at the project and the nice picture they provided. Al I can say is I hope that BIS does not get unfettered access to all information about the users. Because I for one think that it is bad enough that the info is in the system and is as close to an invasion of privacy as I can think, without actually invading someone's privacy.
But then if that information then were to be shared with a central organization like BIS, or anyone else for that matter. That would truly be a recipe for disaster. As they say, the only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them is dead. And to be clear I do not like or dislike BIS as an organization. I know too little about them.
But what I do dislike is global or umbrella organizations. As they tend to have split loyalties. And due to that more easily can sacrifice one for the greater good of the rest.
The result of this test will be announced in a report in Q1 2023. And I for one will be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, I have some more digging to do in the e-krona...
What is your thought on this cross-border project? Do you think it is the first of many or will they simply find that there is no real benefit to it? Please share your thoughts on this in the comment section below. If you would like to support me and the content I make, please consider following me, reading my other posts, or why not do both instead.
See you on the interwebs!
Picture provided by: https://unsplash.com/
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