The U.S. Will Inevitably Adopt a Digital Dollar... But You Can Prepare

[Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins]( Welcome to Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins! It’s the only daily newsletter featuring the insights of renowned author and former Wall Street insider, Nomi Prins. Every day, Nomi shines a light on a massive wealth transfer she calls The Great Distortion. That’s the true cause of the permanent disconnect she sees between the markets and the real economy. And she shares ways you can come out ahead, if you know where the money is flowing. You’ll find all Nomi’s Inside Wall Street issues [here](. If you have questions or comments, send Nomi a note anytime [here]( or at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. The U.S. Will Inevitably Adopt a Digital Dollar… But You Can Prepare By Nomi Prins, Editor, Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins The Federal Reserve’s new digital payment system, FedNow, will launch in July. I talked about this in my essay [yesterday](. FedNow is a milestone in the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It signals that our government is getting closer to adopting a digital dollar and transforming our current monetary system. While a digital dollar may offer some advantages, the potential benefits don’t outweigh the dangers. Today, I’ll dive into how a CBDC takes away your anonymity and gives the government more control over your transactions. I’ll also show you one way to position yourself against this inevitable trend… Recommended Link [Collect Up to $10,000 (or more!) per year from the “Amazon secret royalty program”]( [image]( A unique type of investment could help you make more money than you will need for the rest of your life. It’s what we call the “Amazon secret royalty program.” It’s an income stream that allows you to collect $1,000s… $10,000s… or more every year! In fact, Business Insider says this type of investment could provide “enough money to live off of each year, without having any other retirement plan...” “Royalties” are the most exciting investments in history. Put simply, they’re periodic payouts… That could deliver all the money you need for your retirement… While these “royalties” are different from traditional royalties, just one could hand you enough income to live life on your own terms. And it only takes a few minutes to set up. [Learn how to collect your first payout before June 13th]( -- How a Digital Dollar Erodes Your Privacy As I talked about yesterday, FedNow may not be a CBDC, but it’s a precursor to one. All in all, it brings us closer to the rollout of the digital dollar. Now, a digital dollar could offer some benefits… It might come in handy if you need to receive a stimulus check… or apply for a government emergency loan for your business. A CBDC could even support new business models and provide a foundation to jumpstart innovations in the financial sector. But the digital dollar has several negative implications for a user’s privacy. For one, when money becomes digital, it also becomes fully traceable. Whether authorities can be fully trusted to strike the right balance between protecting privacy and fighting illicit activity remains a question. And its answer depends on how comfortable you feel about trusting the government. Either way, you can definitely forget about anonymity. Here’s what digital yuan project lead Mu Changchun recently had to say: The central bank’s digital currency is more portable. If it provides the same anonymity as cash, it will greatly facilitate illegal transactions such as money laundering. Therefore, the central bank’s digital currency should not have the same anonymity as cash. Beyond that, the possibilities are limitless. They range from taxation to interest rates… and beyond. Once the ruling class realizes the power of CBDC systems to support various taxation initiatives at low transaction costs, expect more tax proposals. These could include anything from sugar taxes, alcohol consumption taxes to foreign visitor expenditure taxes. Tax enforcement doesn’t come free. It’s costly, eating up around 10% of all taxes collected in the U.S. But with the digital dollar, the government will be able to apply complex algorithms to taxation on any transaction in real time… and at little or no extra cost. What about interest rates? Recommended Link [This little-known financial “hack” could change the way Americans shop forever]( [image]( Financial genius reveals how to buy all the stuff you want – without paying for them the usual way. [Click here for LIVE demonstration. (It takes 3 seconds!)]( -- Your digital dollars would have to pay interest, which would be automatically charged to consumers’ accounts. In the case of negative interests, the holders of the CBDC would pay a fraction of the CBDC to the Fed continuously. This means that the balance of their digital wallets would gradually decrease. For a refresher, negative interest rates are a form of monetary policy that sees interest rates fall below 0%. Normally, when interest rates are positive (like they are now), your bank pays you to park your hard-earned cash in a savings account. But negative interest rates turn the opportunity to earn interest on its head by allowing the bank to charge you for the “privilege” of holding your money with them. The only difference with the Fed-issued CBDC is that you’ll be incurring this charge directly from the Fed rather than your local bank. Negative interest rates would also incentivize consumers to spend their digital dollars – another handy tool in the Fed’s toolbox to influence the economy. Finally, a CBDC could even be programmed so that it’s only spendable if the holder of those funds meets certain requirements. This means that, if you do something the government doesn’t like, the government could turn off your ability to transact at the push of a button, or it could charge your account. At that point, the government could have almost unbreakable financial control over the individual. Meaning, it would be a step closer to redistributing the country’s wealth any way it sees fit. This may sound far-fetched, and even dystopian… but if a digital dollar will be tied to your unique digital ID – it will be doable. Recommended Link [New Cash Law Will Be Disaster for Savers]( [image]( New law has expert warning seniors and retirees to beware. There’s a darker truth behind this political event… [Read The Full Story Here.]( -- What This Means for Your Money With the launch of FedNow, it’s becoming clear that the U.S. will inevitably adopt a digital dollar at some point. And a digital dollar could transform our monetary system as we know it. As I’ve written [previously]( a digital dollar would enable the Federal Reserve to fabricate money out of thin air. That’s because it’s easier – and faster – to create a CBDC electronically than a fiat currency. And the greater the money supply, the less valuable each unit of it becomes. The good news is, you don’t have to sit on the sidelines as the CBDC situation unfolds. There are ways to prepare yourself against this rising trend. Consider investing in hard assets like precious metals. They have proven to be resilient against every kind of crisis imaginable. Gold fits the bill perfectly. It is the ultimate form of wealth insurance. And it has preserved wealth throughout different events and changes to our monetary system. That’s because it is relatively hard to produce. And that won’t change anytime soon… Two thousand years ago, an ounce of gold bought the average Roman citizen a toga, belt, and sandals. Today, it still buys you a nice suit and pair of shoes. And, if you want a more recent example, 20 ounces of gold will still get you a pretty nice car… as it would have about half a century ago. That’s why I always recommend holding gold in your long-term investment portfolio. That’s regardless of how the whole digital dollar situation plays out… or how many trillions of dollars in freshly printed money supply the Fed dumps on us. The best way to buy gold is with a combination of physical gold and gold stocks. You can buy physical gold online through accredited places like the U.S. Mint. I wrote a piece detailing the best places and practices to buy physical gold. If you didn’t catch it, read up [here](. You can also buy a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is backed by physical gold. Gold ETFs offer the advantage of holding gold without the hassle of storing, securing, or transporting it. (I covered this in more detail in one of our [mailbag issues]( But remember: never invest more money than you can afford to lose. Regards, [signature] Nomi Prins Editor, Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins P.S. Physical gold and gold ETFs are a great place to start when you’re looking for a safe haven in your portfolio. But as the CBDC rollout inches closer, it becomes even more important to diversify your portfolio. That’s where individual stocks come into play. I’ve actually identified my No. 1 gold pick for 2023 and beyond… and three "unprintable" plays to take advantage of the Fed’s plan to launch a digital dollar. I’ve also found one asset that will help you become your own banker and escape the clutches of this major distortion of our financial system. I put together a video presentation with all the details you need to know. To watch it, [go right here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=RE: Inside Wall Street Feedback). MAILBAG Rogue Economics analyst Clint Brewer [recently discussed]( what would cause the banking crisis to spill into the rest of the economy. Today, a reader shares their thoughts on the challenges banks are facing… and offers a solution… Maybe I am being a bit naive here, but if the challenge to banks around financial conditions is being driven by people moving their money to Treasury bills because it offers a higher rate of return, then perhaps bankers can quit being greedy and increase the return on savings. The spread between credit card or loan interest and the rate paid to consumers is obscene. They are playing the short game (how much profit can I make this quarter) rather than the long game of creating a thriving economy (where everyone benefits). It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – I don’t have enough money to lend, because people make more money investing elsewhere to get better returns. That is two-year-old level petulance. – David C. Would banks increasing their return on savings solve some of the stress in the banking sector, as David believes? Is this crisis a “self-fulfilling prophecy”? Write us at [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=RE: Inside Wall Street Feedback). IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [Another market crash is NOT coming]( Market Wizard Larry Benedict accurately predicted the 2020 and 2022 crashes. Now he’s coming forward with a new prediction… Only this time, he’s not predicting a crash. He’s forecasting something that could be even more painful – and last even longer – than a crash. [Click here for all the details – including his unique solution.]( [image]( [Rogue Economincs]( Rogue Economics 55 NE 5th Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33483 [www.rogueeconomics.com]( [Tweet]( [TWITTER]( To ensure our emails continue reaching your inbox, please [add our email address]( to your address book. This editorial email containing advertisements was sent to {EMAIL} because you subscribed to this service. To stop receiving these emails, click [here](. Rogue Economics welcomes your feedback and questions. 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