CBDCs are not digital dollars. They are programmable control mechanisms.

A digital dollar that functions like cash — bearer instrument, private, no transaction limits — would be useful. That is not what any government is building.

What they are building:

- Programmable expiration dates (spend it or lose it)

- Geographic restrictions (can only be spent within certain areas)

- Category restrictions (cannot buy certain goods)

- Social credit integration (behavior affects spending ability)

- Real-time transaction monitoring (every purchase visible to the state)

- Negative interest rates (your balance shrinks automatically)

Every one of these features has been proposed or piloted by at least one central bank. China's digital yuan already implements several.

The marketing says 'financial inclusion' and 'payment efficiency.' The architecture says 'total monetary surveillance with programmable restrictions on individual economic behavior.'

Bitcoin is the opt-out. Not a theoretical one. A working one, available today.

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