Imagine living in a society where the government tracks every single purchase you make. From stopping to fill up at a gas station to buying a ticket at a movie theater, every single purchase you make, no matter how big or small, is run through a central government database in order for the transaction to be completed. A detailed record of every transaction including the location, price, and items purchased is then reported directly to and retained by the government.
For the people living in the People’s Republic of China, this Orwellian dystopia is increasingly becoming reality.
In 2020, the government of the People’s Republic of China rolled out what they call the “Digital Renminbi”, a centralized, digital payment system created and administered by the Chinese government. Now, when Chinese citizens eat out at a restaurant or buy items at a local grocery store, they are almost exclusively required to pay with the Digital Renminbi. With the proliferation of the Digital Renminbi in China, the Chinese Communist Party has managed to merge dystopian fiction with dystopian reality.
Every time someone in China stops at a gas station and makes a purchase with the Digital Renminbi, the Chinese government gets direct knowledge of the location and time they stopped. Every time someone goes to a pharmacy and pays for a prescription with the Digital Renminbi, the Chinese government gains direct knowledge of what prescription was filled and when that prescription was filled. No matter how big or small the transaction, the Chinese government will know about it due to the Digital Renminbi.
As Americans who enjoy our God-given freedoms, we must use our voices to make sure that a financial surveillance tool like the one adopted in China is never adopted here in the United States. Rather, it is important for us to support and advocate for the private sector digital asset landscape. Decentralized blockchain networks are an important tool in increasing economic prosperity and combating big-government overreach.
Championing crypto and blockchain innovation here in the United States is an important part of both unlocking economic success for the 21st century and preserving the liberties and freedoms we hold dear as Americans.
Supporting crypto here at home will help to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of Web3 and blockchain innovation. America must lead in blockchain technology, or risk losing ground to industry in foreign countries.
If the United States loses ground in the industry to foreign countries, we run the risk of allowing malicious foreign actors to impose their framework on the technology to the detriment of Americans and our liberties. It is crucial that Americans remain at the tip of the spear with blockchain innovation. Accordingly, blockchain innovators and the digital asset community must be allowed to flourish and thrive without the burden of undue government influence.
As freedom-loving Americans, we must fight to ensure that CCP-style financial surveillance tools never reach our shores. Rather, we must embrace crypto and the digital asset landscape to help preserve and protect American economic prosperity, liberty, and security.
Derek Chen is an Alabama-based attorney and conservative activist. Born in California to Taiwanese immigrants to the United States, he is now a proud resident of Vestavia Hills. He received his JD from Samford University and his MBA from the University of Alabama.
