YouTube Channel, Altcoin Daily Raises Privacy Concern Over CBDCs

A recent video on the popular crypto YouTube channel Altcoin Daily (AD) has raised concerns over the growing popularity of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The host of the video session alerted the public of an underlying threat to user privacy integrated into the digital products promoted by various governments across the globe.

Several countries have embarked on CBDC projects that will serve their citizens and, in some cases, facilitate cross-border transactions. AD’s recent video emphasized how the governments focus on communicating the supposed benefits of the proposed technologies while ignoring associated privacy concerns.

For instance, China, which leads the race in CBDC development, advertises how the product will promote faster transactions than what is obtained with current digital payment options. The Chinese government also applauds other incentives, like zero transaction fees for merchants and a planned offline transaction feature.

In the YouTube video, AD shared that China’s CBDC, also known as the digital yuan, is trackable by the Chinese central bank. Yaya Fanusie, an adjunct senior fellow at the center for new American security, said the central bank would have every detail about all the transactions carried out using the CBDC.

According to Fanusie, the central bank will know who is paying, how much they are paying, when they are paying, and where they are paying, and even analyze the patterns of payments. He explained that regarding the digital yuan, the Chinese government could control the validity of users’ funds based on its priorities.

The host of the AD YouTube session noted that regulators in England have started communicating their intention to stop Bitcoin before they lose control. He referenced comments made by Philip Hammond, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, who acknowledged the government’s efforts to slow down Bitcoin before its outstanding amount becomes large enough to be systemically important in the global economy.

In the closing remarks, Fanusie explained that the digital yuan is less about money and more about data. He noted that while the digital yuan is anonymous among regular users, the central bank retains information of all the users participating in the CBDC ecosystem.