If you asked a cypherpunk in the 1990s about their worst-case scenario for the future of money, they probably would have described something very close to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The fight against financial surveillance was fundamental for Bitcoin’s early instigators, and CBDCs go against everything they stand for: privacy, decentralization and individual sovereignty.

In “The Cypherpunk Manifesto” (1993), Eric Hughes argued that cryptography should protect individual freedoms, not be a tool for centralized control. Bitcoin, born out of concerns over financial censorship and systemic instability, represents an alternative to traditional monetary systems. While central banks typically operate with a degree of independence from governments, CBDCs raise questions about financial privacy and the potential for increased state oversight over transactions. As such, CBDCs are the antithesis of Bitcoin.

CBDCs, which are being adopted and trialled throughout the world, ha

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