This is only one of many variations. The Fed doesn't even have to declare a basket (as mentioned above.) Whatever it buys will rise in value, and will become part of the 'basket'. Whatever it abandons will die out. It will have all the power.
The system will be no different from the early days of gold and silver standards, but with a new twist: there are an unlimited number of new gold and silver mines, and only central banks know where they are!
So, I'm still thinking that gold and silver, whose scarcity is secured by physics, rather than computer code, are the superior forms of money for improving our freedom from governments and bankers.
Very true point I think. The banks can just look around for new "assets" to buy in order to "back" their currency. Sure, bitcoin is capped at 21 mil, but there are always new ones that they can gobble up and then use that as a reason to keep printing (or issuing a digital version) dollars.
The only thing I see holding them back is risk of snapping up an unworthy coin. Or being tricked into snapping up an unworthy coin by someone who knows exactly what they're doing. This could cause a bit of chaos as the coin collapses or turns out to be a ponzi scheme...