Tether CEO: CBDCs may evolve into government surveillance tools

Jinse Finance reported that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino recently stated that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could turn "money" into a tool for government surveillance. At the TOKEN2049 conference held in Singapore, Ardoino pointed out that while governments view CBDCs as an advanced financial innovation, in reality, they may be used to control consumers rather than achieve so-called "financial inclusion." CBDCs are digital forms of a country's fiat currency issued and controlled by the central bank. Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, CBDCs are fully centralized, and transaction records can be comprehensively tracked. Ardoino also mentioned that when he first heard about blockchain and bitcoin, his impression was "it felt like inventing nuclear weapons—a powerful technology that could bring disaster if misused." He warned that CBDCs could grant government agencies complete oversight over digital currency transfers.