Shawn Yeager kicks off Season 2 of Trust Revolution with Nick Anthony, policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and fellow at the Human Rights Foundation, leading their CBDC Tracker. They dive into the escalating risks of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which supercharge government surveillance beyond laws like the Bank Secrecy Act. Nick, author of Digital Currency or Digital Control, traces the 2019 CBDC surge to Facebook’s Libra and flags authoritarian regimes as frontrunners. Learn why financial privacy hangs by a thread and how Bitcoin could be the lifeline.

Guest

Nick Anthony serves as a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and a fellow at the Human Rights Foundation, where he leads the global CBDC Tracker. He monitors the implications of central bank digital currencies across 139 jurisdictions. As the author of Digital Currency or Digital Control: Decoding Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Money, he focuses on dissecting the threats posed by centralized financial systems, advocating for decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin to protect individual privacy and freedom.

Highlights

• Season 2 & Fountain.fm Launch (00:00): Shawn unveils Season 2, shifting to Fountain.fm for independent, ad-free distribution. Support via Bitcoin or fiat at trustrevolution.co.
• Nick’s Intro via Nostr (01:31): Shawn welcomes Nick, connected via Nostr, spotlighting his Cato role, CBDC Tracker, and book Digital Currency or Digital Control.
• Cato’s 2014 Mission (03:27): Nick details the Center’s start to challenge central banking post-2008, exploring Bitcoin and fintech alternatives.
• Public’s Financial Woes (08:51): Nick highlights confusion over inflation and government chaos, sparking CBDC curiosity.
• Authoritarian Edge (14:36): Nick reveals seven of ten CBDC nations are autocracies, using them for control.

Quotes to Remember

• “Having conversations about [CBDCs] is so important… if [people] don’t know, then it’s just going to happen without our say.” – Nick Anthony
• “I want people to use alternatives because they’re better, because they’re running to them, not because they’re running away from something.” – Nick Anthony
• “The state is objecting to this… planting in the ground that the state is protesting.” – Nick Anthony
• “Activity is accelerating, but interest is waning… the allure across the world is fading.” – Nick Anthony

Resources & Links

• Nick Anthony’s book: Digital Currency or Digital Control
• Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives: cato.org/centers/cmfa
• Human Rights Foundation CBDC Tracker: hrf.org/cbdc-tracker
• Nick Anthony on X: @Nick-C-Anthony
• Nick Anthony on Nostr

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Music in this episode by More Ghost Than Man.