Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images A central bank digital currency, or CBDC, was once an idea confined to water cooler conversations among economists. But last week, former President Donald Trump catapulted the CBDC controversy to the front of the campaign trail. At an event on Jan. 18, he promised supporters, “As your president, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency. This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America.” The crowd roared. So what is a CBDC? Why is Trump suddenly talking about it? And what does a digital dollar have to do with Bitcoin and the future of money ? In short, a CBDC is a digital dollar created by the federal government. This may sound benign at first. But effectively giving the government digital control over consumer bank accounts has profound implications for privacy and freedom. […]
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