Bitcoin vs CBDC

 Last call for freedom

Abstract

On 12 January 2023, the Bitcoin protocol celebrated 14 years since its launch. Bitcoin’s founding document (the Whitepaper) was released to the world on 31 October 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, who disappeared forever on 10 December 2010. In each of its stages over more than 40 years of evolution, the financial freedom of the individual was always present in its structure and backbone, as a fundamental right that every human being has. Now, the Central Banks, on the back of the success and firm takeover of the “cryptographic” and economic market by the currency created by Satoshi, intend to apply with haste a program of gradual implementation worldwide for their digital currencies, a strategy that is already well underway in countries such as China, Panama or Nigeria. This paper discusses central bank digital cryptocurrencies (CBDC), as opposed to Bitcoin, with their legal implications: the public faith of the blockchain, the jurisprudence surrounding bitcoin, the (lack of) accountability of central banks, the dangers of centralisation and concentration of decision-making power, the loss of privacy and anonymity, and the need to talk about Law in Metaverse.