Have you ever read a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book?

They were special because the reader controls the plot and the ending. At pivot points in the story, you become the character and make decisions. If you’re aware of the future possibilities of blockchain payment networks these days, you too might feel you are in a story. But maybe not a “choose your adventure”. More like an non-player character in George Orwell’s 1984.

What is the next chapter in this story of CBDCs, transparent payment networks, and national power and do we have any control, any agency in what comes next?

Let’s save those answers for the end. But for the next few moments, let’s pretend that you control the future of global blockchain payment networks (no pressure…)

Option 1 // Payments network fully controlled and surveilled by your government (for your protection and safety)

CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) is basically blockchain enabled fiat.

But instead of the blockchain being decentralized, it’s the total opposite. CBDCs take the transparency that typifies most chains and puts it in the hands of a government. 90% of Central Banks are exploring CBDCs but who knows how many will follow through based on their findings.

BRICS is working on a digital, indexed reserve currency. Some Countries like China and Nigeria have already rolled out CBDCs and, despite monumental campaigns from their respective governments, adoption has been miniscule.

The EU is making big moves towards a CBDC and targeting 2026. Research shows only 4-12% of EU citizens will willingly adopt it. And, although 43% of citizens have rated privacy as the most important feature of a digital currency they were told at one point it was “not possible”.

It’s troubling to imagine a payment network where any government has such complete control. How might this power be used? We don’t have to imagine. Early in 2022, Canada seized emergency powers to freeze CEX and other financial accounts for political dissidents.

Option 2 // Payments network run by banks who have migrated to the blockchain

Most major banks already have integrations with blockchains. Some have spun up a distributed ledger in-house to support internal operations. Bank of America likes Chainlink and leans on their oracle data. Kadena was a JPMorgan project until 2020. Visa is in exploratory conversation about building on StarkNet (an Ethereum L2). The point is, banks are accelerating their movement towards integration with blockchain technology.

Imagine the following scenario:

Your bank owns an L2 on Ethereum where your wallet address (and/or your credit card) is your bank account.

When you buy a meal at your favorite restaurant, in order to settle that transaction, your sending address is recorded with the receiving address (the restaurant) on-chain.

If this is publicly queryable… that is very bad. Somebody (or some bot) who knows your public address can see every single financial transaction associated with that wallet. And if the wallet has non-privacy preserving browser integration then they also have access to an uncomfortable swath of your internet data.

Unless the bank decides to keep their blockchain explorer shielded, in-house. Now instead of an analytics company or a bad actor mining your on-chain data, the bank has it. Are you breathing a big sigh of relief?...

Option 3 // You choose a competitive ecosystem of diverse payment networks where privacy is possible and financial surveillance is neither mandated or normalized

Natural landscapes thrive with biodiversity. Within that diversity, there are plants, animals, and microorganisms that die off; however, the land doesn’t die. An entire ecosystem will only die when it is no longer hospitable to diversity. That’s not a bad analogy for business, technology, or - in our case - blockchain-based payment networks.

Imagine a future where there are multiple viable payment networks competing to solve problems, improve features, and acquire users. Some will be more centralized and others more decentralized, but their natural competition is good for all users and for the industry.

In this future, users have a choice to bank or be their own bank. Either way, they have a card with equal convenience.

For users who don’t care about privacy, they can choose a payment solution that reflects that.

For those who do value privacy, they can use a solution like Silk Pay. Silk is private and back-tested to be more stable than any single currency.

When something is superior, it doesn’t need to force itself upon users. If a centralized payment network proves itself to be the unparalleled standard of excellence… let all the decentralized solutions die. And all of us will be happy because the gov or the banks enriched our lives with the best possible payment solution. But as long as half of the global population says financial privacy is “very important” and the centralized payment solutions don’t solve for that… let responsible innovation flourish.

Right now, in our imaginary “choose your adventure” scenario, you hold the future of global payment networks in your decision-making power. Why not choose a future where privacy is normal and financial surveillance is not?

It's Your Time to Vote...

In technology, we “vote” with what we use, so make your vote count. Use applications that honor user privacy rather than pretending it doesn’t matter.

You can also use your voice to help people understand the enormous difference between these possible futures. The people who “don’t care” about privacy now… would care if they were living in a financial panopticon that limited their saving, spending, and surveilled their life in detail.

What does the future hold? Will we be more economically free or less? Your voice and your “vote” aren’t the sole deciders. But if you think they don’t matter, if you aren’t willing to debate, engage, and rally for option 3… expect option 1 or 2.

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Information provided in this post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute formal investment advice. Please read the full disclaimer at shadeprotocol.io/disclaimer before relying on any information herein.