"I was hoping…(heavy sigh)"

Skipping the wasteful, nature scarring stage of telephone poles and landlines and going straight to mobile phones in developing countries shows the democratizing power of technology.

^image by sociology.cam.ac.uk

IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)

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From the Author:

Salutations.

I am JaiChai.

And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.

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For my returning online friends, it's always great to see you again!

RE: Wise Technology vs. CBDCs

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Rather than compete with existing institutions (a la VOIP), a new industry simply made legacy phone systems obsolete.

I was hoping that would also be the case for non-permissioned Blockchains, DLTs and non-siloed Cryptocurrency.

I imagined how a tokenized global economy run by protocols - not by governmental or corporate mandates would reward benevolence, recognize merit - without diminishing each person's sovereign property or earning potential and the free access it would offer to any person around the globe.

(Heavy Sigh…)

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In order to understand my sullen disposition, I need to talk a little about bonds.

Before any stock market, there were bonds.

Did you know that the global bond market has more than tripled in size in the past 15 years and now exceeds $100 Trillion?

Contrastingly, the S&P Dow Jones Indices put the value of the global stock market at around $64 Trillion. (2017 estimates).

The first recorded bond in history dates back to 2400 B.C. – a stone discovered at Nippur, in Mesopotamia, now present-day Iraq. It was a surety bond for a future price of grain.

image by BondFunds

But over the millenia, the use of bonds morphed, becoming a tool used for politics, more than economic stability.

[circa 1100's in Venetia] Bonds were sold by nation states to its citizens to finance wars.

In 1693, the Bank of England issued bonds to raise money to fund a war against France.

Sometimes these bonds were settled. Other times they were not; oftentimes, bond owner repayment was done "by lottery".

In essence, these bond schemes were merely nation-state sanctioned "mafia protection" scams; that is, "If you don't pay (buy our country's bonds), we can not guarantee your protection from those heathens, infidels, black or white skinned, brown or blue-eyed, cat or dog-loving…whatever… enemies at the gates."

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Of course, the rulers decide who to fight, not those being forced to finance the fighting and post-war domestic reparations.

(Kinda like bank bailouts after the 2008 financial crisis)

So, why did I talk about mobile phone technology and drone on about bond history?

Because I thought we in the Crypto Space bypassed the wasteful, Earth scarring bond phase and went straight towards nascent crypto versions of stock exchanges.

But the current focus on CBDCs makes me think that governments just can't let go of "the bond mindset".

The hideous taxes and intrusive KYC guarantees that governments get their cut and a tracking system at the same time.

I agree with @BATMAN's (Torum.com) "walled garden" analogy with this one caveat: Interoperability between CBDCs will be elitist. Only power hitters will be deemed low risk on the global stage.

The list will be fascinating - to say the least.

Real seats of power may have to reveal themselves to the general public for the first time.

Presently, the United Nations could easily back a "UNcoin" with the massive debt owed by countries around the world. Likewise, the Vatican could back a Popecoin with their globally recognized bearer bonds.

base image by cbsnews

(Heavy Sigh…. and a snicker).

By JaiChai

"Really Appreciate You Stopping By. Truly hope to see you again!"

And if you liked my post, kindly Upvote, Comment and Follow.

Here's your TORUM invitation!

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About the Author

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Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.

In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.

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After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.

Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).

He lives on an island paradise with his girlfriend, teenage daughter and two dogs.

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"My mind was a terrible thing to waste..." - JaiChai

JaiChai 1-20-2021. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.