CBDCs Spark Orwellian Fears Over Money Control and Surveillance

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Monday, Aug 25, 2025 9:41 am ET1min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- CBDCs face criticism for enabling Orwellian-level surveillance and control over personal finances through programmable money features.

- Analyst Susie Violet Ward warns of risks like account freezes and digital currency expiry dates, comparing CBDCs to "weaponized money."

- Transatlantic CBDC policy diverges: US bans digital currency development while EU advances privacy-focused digital euro plans.

- Brazil's CBDC pilot revealed embedded surveillance capabilities, highlighting real-world risks of centralized financial control.

- Debate centers on balancing monetary efficiency gains against privacy threats from concentrated institutional power.

CBDCs are drawing sharp criticism for their potential to enable unprecedented central bank control over individuals' financial lives, with critics likening the technology to a real-world manifestation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel "1984." The concern is particularly acute as global CBDC development accelerates, with differing regulatory approaches emerging between the United States and Europe [1].

Susie Violet Ward, financial analyst and co-founder of

Bitcoin
Policy UK, emphasized that CBDCs represent a “weaponization of money in its purest form.” She highlighted that programmable money could allow central banks to enforce restrictions such as an “expiry date” on personal savings or the ability to freeze accounts without due process [1]. Ward’s remarks were made during a recent appearance on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction daily show, where she warned that “they’ll be able to control everything you do through money.”

The reference to Orwell’s 1984 underscores the concern that digital currencies issued by central banks could facilitate mass surveillance and government overreach. Ward argued that Orwell, while prescient in many ways, did not anticipate the rise of programmable money, which could effectively close the “1984 loop” by enabling a centralized authority to regulate not just the flow of information but the flow of money itself [1].

Meanwhile, the transatlantic divide in CBDC policy is deepening. In the US, legislative and executive actions have moved to restrict CBDC development. On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting the establishment of a US CBDC, citing risks to financial stability, individual privacy, and national sovereignty [1]. The House of Representatives later added a provision to the 2026 defense policy bill that explicitly bans the Federal Reserve from issuing any digital currency or asset and prohibits direct financial services to individuals [1].

In contrast, the European Union continues to advance its digital euro initiative. ECB President Christine Lagarde announced that the digital euro is expected to launch in October 2025, with a focus on privacy protections and coexistence with traditional cash [1]. The EU’s approach reportedly includes exploring public blockchains such as

Ethereum
for its CBDC, in contrast to private blockchains where access is limited to authorized entities.

Critics of CBDCs have pointed to real-world examples of embedded surveillance capabilities. In July 2023, Brazil’s central bank published the source code for its CBDC pilot, and within four days, observers identified mechanisms allowing the central bank to freeze or reduce funds in CBDC wallets [1].

As the debate continues, the fundamental tension remains: while CBDCs are often promoted as a tool for financial inclusion and monetary efficiency, they also raise profound concerns about privacy, autonomy, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few centralized authorities.

Sources:

[1] Cointelegraph – CBDCs programmable money orwellian 1984 loop

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cbdcs-programmable-money-orwellian-1984-loop?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound