Re: How much longer until paper money is no longer in circulation?
Of course they're pushing it. Paper money needs printing almost continuously. There are always banknotes that get damaged and they'll get burned (or melted) and replaced with new ones. That costs money.
If they manage to reduce the amount of "paper" money needed to stay in circulation to half, they will save a lot of money from this cycle.
Then, obviously, digital money - no matte it's banks, visa or CBDCs - it's easy to track.
And, as we already know, CBDCs will probably also be easy to freeze or seize, giving governments even more power.
But, by the law (or possibly the constitution?), the government has to ensure each and every citizen has access to the money. And if internet and technology is not available.. phasing out paper money will be illegal/unconstitutional. Simple.
If they manage to reduce the amount of "paper" money needed to stay in circulation to half, they will save a lot of money from this cycle.
Then, obviously, digital money - no matte it's banks, visa or CBDCs - it's easy to track.
And, as we already know, CBDCs will probably also be easy to freeze or seize, giving governments even more power.
But, by the law (or possibly the constitution?), the government has to ensure each and every citizen has access to the money. And if internet and technology is not available.. phasing out paper money will be illegal/unconstitutional. Simple.
I think there's still a long road ahead before we see paper money being phased out for good. It's likely neither you or I will be alive by the time this happens. As you've said before, there are many parts of the world where Internet access (and technology) is not available. How would people begin using a digital currency if they don't know how it works or even have the necessary tools to make a payment? It's possible CBDCs will live alongside paper money for quite some time. It'll be the same as credit/debit cards where paper money is still being used even though the former proves to be superior.
My guess is that paper money would cease to exist 50 years from now. Governments would not only need to develop and launch CBDCs to the public, but also provide the necessary infrastructure (eg: Internet access) to help make people adopt the new system. They would also need to educate the masses about digital currency payments, especially when there are many people who have never heard about or used crypto before. Of course, privacy will be gone once CBDCs reach the mainstream. But at least, we'll have decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero at our side. Who knows what the future will bring? Just my thoughts
