Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin says that China’s forthcoming digital currency will be used to maintain control of its citizens.
In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Nov. 5, Lubin said there was no reason for China to adopt the use of decentralized technology and that their digital currency will likely be used as a mechanism for control.
According to Lubin, China will downplay decentralization when the People’s Bank of China officially launches its digital currency. Instead, the country will use blockchain as a way to modernize their currency rather than promoting the freedom it offers,
China is probably not interested in that aspect of blockchain. They will, I believe, bring a digital RMB to China that makes use of some of the cryptographic primitives of blockchain technology but there’s no real reason for China to make use of its decentralizing aspects.
In addition, Lubin believes that China will attempt to leverage its digital currency to promote further control,
I think the central bank and the government have very significant control already. My guess is that it will be used to maintain the control that they have but also to potentially enable interoperation between more public and global systems.
While China has yet to officially announce a launch date for the CBDC, reports earlier in the year claimed it could happen before the end of 2019.
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