We all have heard of Bitcoin and Ethereum, or maybe even some of you still remember that Dogecoin craze on Twitter not long ago. Many may ask how and why cryptocurrencies arose and what can happen if utilized widely. Not to worry, the answer lies simply in the very definition of cryptocurrencies. “What is cryptocurrency?” is something you may ask yourself; it is a fundamental concept, a digital currency, an alternative form of payment created using encryption algorithms. This has become a rather popular investment, especially in the past decade, and has produced many millionaires. (Those who understood assets, of course) Unfortunately, it has grown a rather cumbersome reputation with the many failed projects erected throughout the past attempting to utilize the currency as the only form of “money” on a private island, for example. However, these fruitless endeavors have paved the way for a new form of currency that has been rolling out of the federal government lately.

I am referring to the new FedNow service to digitize US banking forever. This would seem like a good idea from one standpoint. However, this system could threaten your privacy and financial freedoms as an American citizen. This is a potential danger that this would ultimately enable the government to invalidate and nullify all physical currency. This is an extreme danger because the government can now view every transaction you make and deny a trade if they deem it necessary or find a problem with what you are purchasing. This also enables the government to verify any purchase before you even buy it on sites such as Amazon. Again, this is an extreme threat to our financial freedom, for it is not the right of the government to regulate what you spend your finances on.

Another massive issue with this is how it can be implemented into a system such as China’s Social credit system, where the government may dictate whether you are doing is illegal or not and automatically charge you for a ticket without trial. It is apparent why that would be a problem. It is also very worthy to note the intentions of such a system when we already have online banking options available for absolutely free such as PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. To restate what was said previously, it is a good idea on paper; however, it is not the government’s place to hold such powers that this service is promising to have.