The Federal Reserve has released a long-awaited review of the potential for creating a central bank digital currency or CBDC.

The report represents a significant first step in moving forward with the concept and is now going through a public review period where people will be invited to respond to questions put forward in the report. 

From the moment bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies first emerged, sold as an independent and alternative medium of exchange outside the financial status quo, it was only a matter of time before the new alternative would be absorbed, modified and redeployed in service of the state.

For many government officials who want to maintain control of the financial system, “Central Bank Digital Currencies”: are the mainstream answer to bitcoin.

For those who have never heard of them...