⚠️ HRF CBDC ⛓️🪙 alert from HRF for Hong Kong (19-MAR-2024)

🗝️ℹ️ (Key Information)

CBDC Status: Pilot

CBDC Launch: n/a

CBDC Model: n/a

CBDC Issued: n/a

Inflation Rate: 1.88%

One-Sentence Summary:

The Human Rights Foundation raises concerns over the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's persistent development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

✅🇭🇰 Hong Kong Monetary Authority started proof-of-concept project named Project LionRock in 2017 for testing wholesale CBDCs.

✅ In 2019, HongKong Interbank Clearing Limited, along with three banks, also collaborated to test cross-border payments via CBDC prototype called Project Inthanin-LionRock.

✅ A whitepaper exploring technical aspects of a retail CBDC was published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in 2021, with emphasis on a two-tier distribution model.

✅ Rail 2 Pilot program, an initiative for firms to test CBDC designs, was started by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in November 2022.

✅ Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, among 16 firms, were chosen to participate in the program in 2023.

✅ A report in October 2023 from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stated the potential benefits of CBDCs but affirmed the decision to launch one has not been finalized.

✅ CBDC Expert Group was then formed by Hong Kong Monetary Authority to investigate key policy and technical issues surrounding CBDCs.

✅ Project mBridge, a project in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements for creating a wholesale CBDC, was launched in 2024 amid concerns about high cross-border payment costs and lack of transparency.

✅ However, concerns arose regarding the potential use of CBDCs to directly control citizen's finances in light of the crackdowns on activists and critics by the Hong Kong authorities and the Chinese government.

#HumanRightsFoundation #HongKongMonetaryAuthority #CentralBankDigitalCurrency #ProjectLionRock #ProjectInthaninLionRock #ProjectmBridge #HumanRightsViolations

What do you think about the potential misuse of CBDCs as tools for financial control and how can cryptocurrency enthusiasts advocate for freedom while supporting the development of CBDCs?

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)

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