Cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology that allows for de-centralized peer-to-peer transactions to take place outside the government-controlled banking system.

Backers of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin tout their privacy advantages and resistance to inflation due to their strictly limited quantities.

But what if this free-market innovation were co-opted to achieve opposite ends – centralized tracking of every transaction with no possibility of escaping digital devaluations?

That’s what some central bankers are ultimately aiming for by replacing paper cash with their own digitized, monopolized currencies.

Federal Reserve Officials Are Eager to Follow China’s Authoritarian Lead

Not surprisingly, authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and China are leading the way in rolling out their own cryptocurrencies. But the U.S. may not be far behind.

Consider what Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard  ... Read more »

Keeping up appearances is about to get a lot harder for the central planners trying to manage perceptions of the U.S. (and global) economy. The coronavirus is going to have a meaningful impact on global supply chains, even if stock market cheerleaders haven’t fully realized it yet.

This might be because the corporate media and ruling elites are burning a lot of what is left of their fading credibility trying to ignore or downplay the problem.

Some things can’t be ignored, however. Capital Economics published some telling charts last week showing conditions on the ground in China. Below are two which detail the Chinese economy all but grinding to a halt.

... Read more »