⚠️ HRF CBDC ⛓️🪙 alert from HRF for Ghana (27-FEB-2024)

🗝️ℹ️ (Key Information)

CBDC Status: Pilot

CBDC Launch: n/a

CBDC Model: n/a

CBDC Issued: n/a

Inflation Rate: 31.26%

One-Sentence Summary:

"🇬🇭 Ghana plans to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), but concerns rise amid economic instability, potential risks to freedom of expression, and corruption issues."

✅ Updates on Ghana's (🇬🇭) progress to launch a CBDC, deemed as the e-Cedi, show repeated delays due to economic instability, with no clear timeline in sight.

✅ Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia had expressed support for CBDCs and not cryptocurrencies in 2021, spurring the Bank of Ghana to partner with Giesecke+Devrient for a CBDC pilot.

✅ 2022 launch plans were postponed due to inflation, as communicated by Bank of Ghana governor, Ernest Addison.

✅ Despite delays, the central bank of 🇬🇭 published a report detailing the motivations and design principles for their CBDC, including countering crypto rise, establishing a digital economy, and promoting financial inclusivity.

✅ In 2023, news revealed that the pilot was complete, but launch was again postponed due to economic instability.

✅ In 2024, VP Bawumia expressed hopes for the CBDC as a tool to combat corruption, enhance transparency, simplify tax collection, and prevent money laundering.

✅ Despite 🇬🇭 scoring 80 out of 100 in the 2023 Freedom in the World report, it faces challenges in freedom of expression and corruption that could complicate CBDC implementation.

✅ Potential threats to journalists, activists, confidential informants arise from the control CBDCs give to governments over finances, as history shows money control often undermines opposition.

✅ With reports of financial mismanagement in excess of $346 million in 2022, the pervasive corruption in 🇬🇭 calls into question the government's ability to limit risks, and potential for using CBDCs for political favoritism.

#CentralBankDigitalCurrency #CBDC #Ghana #EconInstability #BankofGhana #FinancialInclusion #HumanRights #Freedom #Corruption #Privacy

What are your thoughts about the potential implications of CBDCs on peoples' financial and personal freedoms, especially in environments where corruption persists? Could the e-Cedi become a force for good or might it enhance government control and surveillance in Ghana?

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of the original text from HRF, forigve fuck-ups plox. If you find it useful, ⚡ the Tracker Bot because the AI and Cloud bits are not free to run.

Source of data: https://cbdctracker.hrf.org/home (npub1zhqcda52mrvcc0vkwegwsp5xtpk6l6x5kqx85f06tu9lw5h6xx0scch0dw)

CBDC Tracker bot brought to you by npub18s59mqct7se3xkhxr3epkagvuydwtvhpsacj67shrta8eknynegqttz5c3

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