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Showing posts with the label freedom

Financial surveillance, privacy and CBDCs: Why are governments going cashless?

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Attorney Marta Belcher joins The Agenda podcast to unpack financial surveillance’s vast infrastructure and warn of the potential ramifications of central bank digital currencies. When most people think of surveillance , they probably think of cameras on street corners, government agencies collecting emails, or smartphones and smart home devices listening to conversations. But there is another form of government and corporate surveillance that gets less attention but is just as prevalent: financial surveillance . On Episode 12 of The Agenda podcast, Jonathan DeYoung is joined by Marta Belcher, a cryptocurrency and civil liberties attorney who serves as president and chair of the Filecoin Foundation and general counsel and head of policy at Protocol Labs, which helps develop the Filecoin protocol. The two discuss a wide range of topics, from the ins and outs of financial surveillance in the United States to why governments are turning away from cash in favor of central bank digital

Making the case that Bitcoin is not freedom: Pacific Bitcoin Panel

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Is Bitcoin really bringing freedom to the world? Experts discussed the complexities of using Bitcoin as a tool for emancipation at a panel at Pacific Bitcoin. "Bitcoin (BTC) is Freedom" is one of Bitcoin’s many epithets. Like “Bitcoin is digital gold,” “Bitcoin is property,” or even Bitcoin is absolute digital scarcity, these phrases ricochet around the walls of Bitcoin-themed conference arenas. They’re also memed into eternity on social media. But one of Bitcoin’s overarching mantras is “Don’t trust, verify.” Rooted in an old Russian proverb, the phrase has come to define the Bitcoin ethos. It suggests rules, ideas, and concepts should be tested, tried and verified. So with that in mind, to what extent is Bitcoin actually freedom? How far can we make the point that Bitcoin is categorically a tool for freedom? Can Bitcoin set people free?  At the Pacific Bitcoin conference in Los Angeles, hosted by Bitcoin-only exchange Swan Bitcoin, this debate came to life. During a panel