The claim that FedNow is not the first step toward a CBDC would be more easily digestible were we not aware of the Biden administration’s steady barrage of hostile broadsides against cryptocurrencies. Between 2008-22, the Fed partnered with a handful of big banks to print $10 trillion-ten centuries of wealth in 15 years — a bonanza for the Banksters. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin give the public an escape route from the splatter zone when this bubble invariably bursts. So the White House is colluding with the banksters to keep us all trapped in the bubble of profiteering and control. In his Feb. 8 post on Pirate Wires, Nic Carter @nic_carter describes how the White House has organized bankers to participate in a sophisticated, widespread crackdown to destroy the crypto industry. Carter describes 15 incidents where President Biden has weaponized FDIC, OCC + DOJ to force crypto-friendly banks to close their doors to crypto firms since Dec. 3. The recent crackdown on crypto blocks exit ramps, removes alternative rails, and strengthens government control over both the financial and political systems. We should be wary since CBDCs are the ultimate mechanisms for social surveillance and control. As Balaji Srinivasan @balajis says, “The distinction between FedNow and a CBDC is important from a technical standpoint, but not from a civil liberties standpoint.” Balaji compares FedNow to “a virus that has evolved to evade recognition by changing its sequence without really changing its function."