Its getting so common to pay electronic. I am retching. Although I like crypto currencys and put my hopes into them. But let’s start in the beginning:

WHEN WE LOOSE CASH, WE LOOSE FREEDOM.

Why don’t so many people get it? When you pay with your debit/creditcard you

• are creating logs with all your transactions, which makes you transparent and somewhat predictable.
  (in Germany they recently demolished bank secrecy, so the german government can legaly monitor cashflow with out any judicial order)

• support those who argue its oldfashioned and supports only illegal activities.
  If you take a look around you see its desired by banks to remove cash in general. They are interested in having no cash, so you cannot withdraw your earnings from their control. Once there is no cash, you cannot take your money away from those who speculate wildly on international markets and put it on risk. In a cashless scenario, their risk would then also be yours.
  And you cannot deprive from any possible negative interest on bank accounts. Well you only can deprive by spending your money. But do you want to save your earnings by hiding lumps of gold under your pillow? When you keep it on your bank account you can watch it step for step vanishing and getting to be dispossed.

In Sweden they will prohibit cash in 2018. Thanks to use electronic cash unconsciously, they won’t be able to pay in cash at all. The european central bank won’t supply the markets with new 500 notes also in year 2018. So when the old ones will be sorted out, there wont be new.

In Italy and France they made any cash transactions above 1000 euro illegal. They’re planing to create a cash limit as well in Germany. They even want to make certain businesses to report to authorities when getting payed in huge amounts of cash.

Also in the Netherlands many businesses don’t accept cash anymore. So people getting forced to pay electronic. This trend is observable in other European states.

Once there is no cash available anymore, you literally can be get shut down by your government out of many (shady) reasons. They easily can freeze your bank account claiming you are a terrorist, just because you insist on some (remaining) freedoms. You cannot escape.

Let’s use our imagination a little bit: Many people don’t know what a RFID Chip is. But in fact they getting quite common these days. Every new german ID got one implemented. Since a few month you have to express actively to your local authority that you do not want it to be activated( you can't get one without at all.) This doesn’t apply to our passports. For this IDs chips are mandatory and you can only disable them by destroying them in a microwave oven. ( Luckily it is stated in law, that they still will be valid, even with a defective chip! )

Per law, german authorities are allowed to have access on that data on said chip including you picture

But these chips are readable for everyone with a little technical understanding. Over a distance up to several meters. And they contain the most precious of your data: Your Name, your address and even your fingerprint in most cases. The technological infrastructure is quick to be developed to have a gapless Survillance.
It is not far fetched to combine your bank account to that RFID technology. Once it is mandatory to do so, you won’t be able to pay anything without revealing your full identity.

Coming to and end

I know that this is a pretty dystopic scenario, but I cannot help myself, I feel it kinda realistic this days. To show that I have ( at least mostly ) a positive attitude I want to express my gratitude for those, developing new technologies in crypto currencies in which I put my hopes to remain free and ( somewhat ) independent.

In a free and democratic society you have to have the right to pay anonymously. You always will have some individuals abusing freedom for crimes. But this shouldn’t be an argument to take away freedom and rights from all peoples. As Benjamin Franklin once said “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Furthermore I want to express my Gratitude and Hope regarding the people around me: Germany is one of the (last) countries, people prefer mostly to pay in cash – and do so.
I work as a cashier myself aside my studies to make a living. And I can confirm statistics of every second German paying in cash. Please, continue doing that. And all others of you, please weigh pros and cons of the use of electronic ways to pay your bills.
The decision is yours, please don’t do it unconscious. Be aware of what you are doing and if that serves your interest and expectations about future. I know, technology advancement cannot be stopped, and I do not only know that, but also endorse it. It made a platform like this one possible.

On a final note..

As always, be invited to comment my writing here. Do you agree on my points? Do you disagree? Why is that ? Do you think there will be an adequate mean to cash in crypto currency? How vulnerable is it to surveillance? I think we have to expect the governments to try and regulate those markets. What is possible on a technological level? Can we stay anonymous even with regulations to be made?

Please let me know!