Bulgaria is officially part of the Eurozone. With the end of the lev, Bulgaria now falls under the ECB when it comes to CBDC developments.
nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm asked me to share one of my favorite freedom tech projects. Here's what I had to say about nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqyvhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn6v43x2er9v5hxxmr0w4jqqgx62mz5khn8f8t945pccxty0pu5472wf7j6fm7uyz6fnq0ya3txcvkl3f4a
While I was limited to just one, I also have to give shout-outs to Skot building Bitaxe, nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcpzemhxue69uhks6tnwshxummnw3ezumrpdejz7qpq2rv5lskctqxxs2c8rf2zlzc7xx3qpvzs3w4etgemauy9thegr43sugh36r building Cashu, and many more.
The policy front may be depressing at times, but the people building solutions on the ground give me hope.
See what everyone else on the HRF Freedom Tech Team had to say here. https://hrf.org/latest/top-15-freedom-tech-projects-of-2025/
From an efficiency standpoint, I think I'd rather it be AI. However, the jump cuts suggest it was pre-recorded. https://youtu.be/P-u78U8u-3I?si=ruNuAbezhrmIsQl9
I guess there are no days off. The latest in ECB CBDC marketing is a Christmas post from president Christine Lagarde.
To be honest, I would have preferred coal, but here we are... so let me put down the eggnog and break down what's happening here. 
As she noted, the EU Governing Council has given the green light for the digital euro (the ECB's CBDC). In short, the Council said that the digital euro should work both online and offline, have holding limits, allow a "high degree of privacy" while still being AML/KYC compliant, and be free for consumers to use.
This green light from the council does not mean, however, that the digital euro will be launched. Now it's up to the European Parliament to weigh in.
Sadly, though, this process might appear democratic from the outside, but it's really just a formality. It's unlikely that Parliament will alter the course.
As nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgdwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkcqpqdg6es53r3hys9tk3n7aldgz4lx4ly8qu4zg468zwyl6smuhjjrvsm58xhx noted on X, the ECB is just waiting for the Parliament's rubber stamp to move forward.
As CBDC marketing ramps up, it's important to be vigiliant (even on holidays).
As I've noted repeatedly, the ECB's marketing campaign borders on false advertising when it comes to claims about competition and freedom.
https://www.cato.org/blog/digital-euro-isnt-about-freedom
2026 is going to be an eventful year on the CBDC front. And as always, you can find out everything you need to know in the nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm CBDC Tracker.
If you want to give yourself a gift this Christmas, follow nostr:npub1key55ax33gkl50uqemvl4khrtqrhzm7wzpc7fhseutt5ddkcwcrqgxlt3h and nostr:nprofile1qqsd54k9fd0xwjwkttgr3svkg7reftu5una95nhacg95nxq7fmzkdscpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnfdenx7qgkwaehxw309aex2mrp0yhxummnw3ezucnpdejqk9kul9.
Hands down the best organization accounts in the game if financial freedom banter is your thing. And if it isn’t, it should be… so follow them anyway.
Ironically, "CBDCs do not serve a purpose" is what I've been saying for years.
Apparently, I crossed the line? Aurore Lalucq is officially the first government official to block me on social media.
I was following her for 11 minutes before I got the error card.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but saying "anyone who opposes the digital euro" is effectively an enemy of the state does not exactly inspire confidence that the CBDC won't be abused. 
Some good news on the CBDC front!
Norway has joined the growing list of countries saying no to CBDC. https://cbdctracker.hrf.org/
After reading more than 300 pages of congressional transcripts from 1968-1970, I finally found the first instance in which someone said the Bank Secrecy Act would harm financial privacy.
Clifford Sommer (American Bankers Association) urged Congress to reconsider what it was doing. Not a single witness before him (albeit, all government officials) seemed to be concerned about the Fourth Amendment or people's privacy. 
I'm confused. Are you telling me to get out of here?
The New York Times points to the absence of interest payments on stablecoins as a negative. Yet, what it doesn't point out here is that it was _Congress_ that prohibited stablecoins from doing that.
Congratulations to nostr:nprofile1qyx8wumn8ghj7cnjvghxjmcpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqqgqux8xd5fcfl3k0tkc2pvy8xcf7y4jxcj55gauald0g6m9me5hwrs2xw9y4, nostr:nprofile1qqszvwvcmwhas4rvwrwgj8gqddg3kmr5nn9tf6gta7xl6glvu6aeq4qde3re3, nostr:nprofile1qyg8wumn8ghj7nn0wd68ytnhd9hx2qg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsqzpsnz9jgkmxusuy9grv46v7cehh7966lzdsjh2mglnyxn0pwwzdsmyyrj62, nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnxd46zuamf0ghxy6t6qy28wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn00p68ytnyv4mqqgzccaq65ccv9k3454480sws2wqepz73q5z0m5kckslhyhh6d533jc25xncl, and the whole nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm team on 100 editions of the Financial Freedom Report.
If you're not signed up, this is one of the few newsletters I read from top to bottom.
https://hrf.org/program/financial-freedom/financial-freedom-reports/
Finally, on the last day of the Africa Bitcoin Conference, I've saved the worst CBDC experience in Africa for last: Nigeria.
In the words of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the CBDC experience has not been a "rosy story."
The central bank launched the eNaira in 2021, and it's basically been downhill since then.
Initial adoption was stuck at just 0.5 percent. The central bank lowered the requirements for access and introduced discounts in response, but people still preferred cash over the CBDC.
With adoption still struggling, Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor Kingsley Obiora said that all the eNaira needs is a “a little push from the government.”
That's when the central bank suddenly announced it was taking cash out of circulation. After lines turned to protests and then riots, the central bank described the eNaira as a "success" after adoption went from 0.5% to 6%. https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2023/03/06/nigerians-rejection-of-their-cbdc-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-other-countries
Even the IMF admit the CBDC has largely been a failure. In a 2023 study, the IMF found that 98.5 percent of the wallets issued have never been used.
And that's to say nothing of all the complaints on the app stores. https://x.com/EconWithNick/status/1942230482995048751?s=20
The eNaira has largely fallen apart at this point. Speaking in Ghana a few weeks ago, one Central Bank of Nigeria official said that Nigerians were not interested in the CBDC, the central bank was not prepared to be a retail bank, and the market was already providing solutions.
I've only just skimmed the surface, so be sure to check out the nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm CBDC Tracker to learn more about what's happening in Africa, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. https://cbdctracker.hrf.org/home
After hearing the Bank Secrecy Act would be too expensive to comply with, Congress brought in "experts" to say how much it will cost.
Congress: Would you agree that bankers exagerate the cost?
The Expert: Oh, I have no idea.
It's day two of #ABC2025 so let's look at some of the pilot projects in Africa by digging into what's been happening in Mauritius, Tunisia, and Ghana.
The Bank of Mauritius received assistance from the IMF to research CBDCs back in 2020. After 4 years of research, the central bank launched a pilot in 2024. Details, however, have been pretty limited. It only said one commercial bank was involved and more pilots would follow.
The Banque Centrale de Tunisie had an early start in 2019 when rumors spread that it launched a CBDC, but the central bank quickly denied these claims. It did, however, launch a CBDC pilot in collaboration with the Banque de France in 2021 to test cross-border transactions.
The Bank of Ghana also got its start in 2019. It ran a pilot in 2022 and planned to go live in 2023, but it delayed those plans due to the high inflation experienced at the time. The central bank continues to be active in the space, but the timeline is unclear.
Tomorrow, I'll spotlight the only launched CBDC in Africa. However, if you can't wait... you can find out who it is in the nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm CBDC Tracker.
I couldn't make it to #ABC2025, but I'm there in spirit. So for anyone else stuck at home, let's look at some of the African countries in the nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm CBDC Tracker that are researching CBDCs: Botswana, Namibia, and Kenya.
The Bank of Botswana kicked off its CBDC exploration in 2021. However, a central bank official confirmed this summer that they are still "at an early stage of exploration."
The Bank of Namibia began its research in 2020 and eventually received assistance from the IMF on at least three different occasions. However, in 2024, the IMF “did not find a strong case for issuing a [retail CBDC] at the moment."
The Central Bank of Kenya had a bit of a late start in 2022, but it has repeatedly found that CBDCs are a solution in search of a problem. The central bank said many of Kenya's problems "cannot be solved with CBDCs" and that launching a CBDC is not "a compelling priority."
Curious to learn more? You can find more information in the HRF
CBDC Tracker. And tomorrow, I'll spotlight the pilot projects. https://cbdctracker.hrf.org/home
If you run or work in financial services (banking, bitcoin, or anything else) in the Eurozone, dm me! I'm working on a follow-up to my piece calling out the ECB's "freedom money" campaign, and the perspective on the ground would be very helpful here.
Can confirm. I never leave home with an onion, a tomato, a knife, and a towel.
In a moment of reflection, Central Bank of Nigeria official Musa Itopa Jimoha admit that the Nigerian CBDC experience had not been a "rosy story." Nigerians were not interested in the eNaira because the market was already providing solutions.
He warned other central banks not to issue a CBDC unless there is a real problem that it will actually solve. Interestingly, he also advised creating a separate legal entity to handle the CBDC so that operations are not directly under the central bank.
cbdctracker.hrf.org
To be fair, it's not an enjoyable read, and it's a long one at that. I'll keep posting the more telling gems as I go, though. For instance, here's a fun fact for you: Not a single witness raised concerns about privacy and surveillance until after two years of congressional hearings. That witness was from the American Bankers Association and his testimony marked the first time Congress brought in bankers to hear their views on the Bank Secrecy Act. Every witness from the previous 2 years was a government official.
Good question. I should have noted that. This is the transcript from the congressional hearing in 1970. I’ve been going back through it for a new project I’m working on
While discussing the Bank Secrecy Act, Representative Patman said the quiet part out loud.
He congratulated the Treasury for going "rather far" and "making a long step here" to establish capital controls. The Treasury quickly shot back saying not to call it that. 
More than half of the authoritarian regimes across the world are publicly working on CBDCs.
One of my favorite things about Bitcoin is that more people than ever are asking questions like, ‘What is money? What is privacy? What is sovereignty?’
It’s through that curiosity that people see what’s at stake.
https://www.ccn.com/education/crypto/cbdcs-digital-euro-turn-money-into-control-nick-anthony/
That was actually what caught my eye! I was just wondering around and noticed the building I was standing next to looked strange in comparison to everything else.
Many folks are reporting that the digital euro's 2029 launch date is "breaking news."
Real ones know that info has been in the nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm CBDC Tracker since July. 😉
Remember, anon: You can just do things.
Governments force banks to report your activity, judge whether you are being suspicious, and close your accounts when you step out of the norm.
How? It dates back to 1970.
https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025/10/28/55-years-of-financial-surveillance
President Richard Nixon had not yet been caught surveilling his political opponents. Instead, Oct. 26, 1970 marks when Nixon signed the Bank Secrecy Act and set the foundation for a new regime of financial surveillance.
Often abbreviated as “the BSA,” the Bank Secrecy Act was originally enacted over fears that the rise of air travel in the late 1960s would lead to Americans hiding their money in Swiss bank accounts.
As the times changed, so did the concerns. Congress initially targeted tax evaders, but the Bank Secrecy Act was later expanded to also go after drug traffickers. Later, it would be expanded again to go after terrorists.
Most recently, Congress has been weighing where and how to apply it to cryptocurrencies.
https://www.cato.org/blog/warren-misses-details-bank-secrecy-act
Yet, it hasn’t just been the targets that have changed. Congress has also steadily expanded who must report their customers under this regime.
Even the @USPS and pawn shops are defined as "financial institutions" here.
This ever-growing list of both targets and informants is partly why more than 27.5 million reports were filed on customers last year. https://www.cato.org/blog/reporting-fincens-suspicious-activity-again
Congress has prioritized ever-increasing financial surveillance over protections for people’s privacy for 55 years now. It’s time for that to change.
It’s time to respect financial privacy and stop treating ever-expanding surveillance as the norm. Reform needs to happen before the Bank Secrecy Act gets to celebrate its next big milestone.
For more on how, check out my latest in nostr:nprofile1qqsrgaz8zg984qgj8uf34n7ezuyd62u94jswdgvxglrv422eznj9wdsd66ugv https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025/10/28/55-years-of-financial-surveillance
At nostr:npub1awnu9vg352863e7tqlc6urlw7jgdf8vf00tmr76uuhflp4nnn68sjmnnl3 , nostr:nprofile1qqsx5dvc2g3cmjgz4mgelwlk5p2ln2ljrsw23y2ar38z0agd7tefpkgpzemhxw309a6k6cnjv4kzumr0vdskcw358q6rsqg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvszd8ej8 asked me about the importance of financial privacy. And on a note of optimism, I shared why the rise of tools like nostr:nprofile1qqsd54k9fd0xwjwkttgr3svkg7reftu5una95nhacg95nxq7fmzkdscpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezu7n9vfjkget99e3kcmm4vss2a8lu , Cashu, Signal, and Proton gives me hope.
https://blossom.primal.net/3c69e7d9ee26bc657bbd49d933488bee3d0294d453b7fbc955c3b8e0967ead30.mov
I talk about this at length in my book (happy to send a copy). The short version is in what you said “the government isn’t likely to want privacy.” So by promoting a privacy minded CBDC, people end up inadvertently promoting a CBDC.
Everyone who uses money needs the digital euro?
Wild take from Bloomberg.
To their credit, the authors acknowledge that electronic payments are widely available.
So why? Why do people need a digital euro when they are already served by a wide array of options?
And there it is: Control.
The authors do well to be upfront about one risk of CBDCs. Although the only one they mention is the risk that a CBDC could undermine banks and so they propose restrictions on how much people can own.
However, there are many other risks at play with few benefits to justify the cost.
https://www.cato.org/visual-feature/risks-of-cbdcs
Check out the full piece in Bloomberg below.
One small thing: if it's not too much trouble, would you mind looking over a draft of my FATF paper when it gets close to the finish line? It's still a ways off, but I'd love to get your perspective on it
The ease of sharing long-form work on Nostr is unreal.
nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpx4k0yez0x4akf0q8hr4yeyt2ph80u2qjuvhrlvh8cqltpz6rv0vqq24gunpvd4kjmn894p5y3zrwvkhgarzdfkkspjtuc8
Dictators regularly use the financial system to target opposition. nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnxd46zuamf0ghxy6t6qy28wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn00p68ytnyv4mqqgzccaq65ccv9k3454480sws2wqepz73q5z0m5kckslhyhh6d533jc25xncl says Bitcoin offers a lifeline: "It's money that dictators can't stop."
