When covid first started, there was a lot of chatter around different conspiracy theories. Some sounded crazy, others just scary.
One of those theories centered around the “war on cash”, and at the time was thought to be for health reasons.
If people didn’t handle cash that they exchanged with other people, it minimized the risk of transmitting covid. That was the justification at the time.
But if that were possible, every store item people picked up and put down on the Costco shelf would be a superspreader, and that never appeared to be the case.
As of today, August 1st 2022, it is illegal to purchase items over $1700 with cash in Israel. If you are caught, you can be fined 15-30% of the total value of purchase.
Instead of being for health reasons, this is for anti-criminal activity reasons. The assumption is that the shady people buying and selling shady things are using cash, and if forced to use a traceable digital asset, they will not go through with their shady transaction, or tax evasion activities.
And for everyone else who is not doing shady things, every single large purchase is now required to be a digital transaction. That includes paying for products, but also for services like home renovations or other employee type scenarios.
Why is this a big deal?
Even if you have nothing to hide, this shifts the state from being a resource serving the people to an authority figure keeping tabs on you.
There is no assumption that people will follow the laws, pay taxes and not purchase illegal items. This says people cannot be trusted so we must monitor your transactions.
Will this happen in other countries?
Probably, and I’ll continue to watch.
Is this a gateway drug to central bank digital currencies?
Yes, I believe so.
Can you protect yourself from this encroaching authoritarian state?
I hope so, and will continue to look for ways to stop or at least slow down this insanity. It starts with awareness and understanding that these policies are not for our benefit.
I’ve shifted my focus from crypto specific topics to broader net around money, blockchain and what’s ahead for us all.
I also have a new bi-weekly report I publish with two other finance pros - check it out if that is of interest to you.