Bitcoin Forum

Sweden Begins Planning Transition From Cash To Digital Currency



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-17/sweden-begins-planning-transition-cash-digital-currency

As I predicted, as countries move from cash to crypto :

1) It will not be bitcoin
2) It will be state controlled
3) No interest paid
4) Every transaction you make will be fully trackable

5) When implemented a bitcoin ban in that country will soon follow **we will have to wait and see on this prediction ;) **

A government and bankers wet dream - full control over all your wealth, good luck in future banker bailouts.

Remember all those bank runs in Greece and Cyprus when people got wind of the hair cut that was coming, what are you going to do when cash no longer exists to withdraw and they impose a minimal spending limit on your account.

They only want to appear modern. "digitalized" fiat is still fiat and not cryptocurrency.

The death of cash is now being pushed in most countries.

Check how many have now scrapped the larger value notes, next will be mid value notes leaving you with only pocket change.

Sweden, Norway and Denmark. All fascist countries. All rich countries. You go to Oslo's airport one Friday afternoon, and it's crowded with people going on week-ends to Southern Europe, but they will all be back by Monday morning, because the people there are unable to live without the safety net from their government (medical insurance and all that), nor the gigantic organization which rules everything in their lives.

If you can avoid to ever travel there, I advise you do. Without or without cryptocurrencies, these countries will ban cash. Cards are already everywhere. If you want to pay cash in Norway, the people look at you like you're some kind of an alien.

Oo, it doesn't look to be good. A stated controlled digital currency, no btcs, no advantages to population (very different from btc purpose)... Hmm, it's not for nothing people say they are "socialists".

It will make other motivation for the other country(bank), as your prediction. Even every bank will make their crypto.

All of the control is still under his control, Even I could have thought if this is the real action for preventing bitcoin in his country.

They wealth on the banker's hand. ;)

Common sense says as the general population moves away from cash to digital currency and becomes used to using it the governments and central banks will not want direct competition to their fully controlled crypto.  Bitcoin will have the same benefits but none of the downsides, it will not be allowed to survive.

the only advantage is against criminals, because it's easy see where money go.

just some days ago in italy there was a new limitation for withdrawal money from bank, they set a limit 1000 euro daily and 5000 monthly!
if you get more you're risk to get accused of fiscal evasion!
so the idea of money controlled seems to be a real standard and every day some news remember it :(

I can see the commercials now: Dont use that other shady coin! We offer insurance!"

Not anywhere near as appealing as a Decentralized currency. It will help adoption of bitcoin as a matter of fact. Thats my prediction. Documentaries, news broadcasts. Bring it!

The general public probably wont care if a currency is centralized or decentralized.  I have no faith in the sheeple, as long as they get paid and can buy the latest iphone with it they couldnt give a shit.  They will also swallow all the "Ban Bitcoin, it is only for drug dealers and child porn" propaganda.



As I stated previously this is exactly what will kill bitcoin.  Governments and central banks will not tolerate direct competition from bitcoin to their shiny new, fully controlled, bank issued crypto.

it's gonna depend from country to country. scandinavians are all too happy to sleepwalk into something like this. they look at government as something paternalistic and seem happy to do whatever's served up to them.

if you tried this in the us of a i don't think it's gonna go down too well. as the older generations die off then maybe attitudes will change.

what does it mean for bitcoin? not sure. it will finally make sense to a lot more people but perhaps it'll be too late.

Not surprised that the most backasswards "progressive" country is doing something that is going to allow for them to track all of their citizens even more. Disgusting.

It's a good thing that most other countries, not in Europe, anyways, will face decent resistance if they try to do something like this. The Swedish people will just bend over for it.

It's a shame a decent country has become so... terrible.

That is a smart move because so much of the money in the economy is moved electronically. It's a natural step to take for any currency.

But where is the innovation? Behind all this is a wider surface of attack from hackers, scammers and crooks. I would love to see this happen and let us see what good it will bring compared to the present system. What difference does it have with debit cards? All transactions are also tracked, the money is also state controlled fiat and the interest paid is negligible.

Who cares about that. They can have the "mainstream" all they want. Bitcoin was not made specifically for them but it will be used by them sooner or later. Maybe their first introduction to Bitcoin will be when their Windows computer gets infected by ransomware asking them to pay in BTC.

Politics always build things ... and they can't.
Because it's peoples that they build things.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img923/1816/mM4nDy.gif

Bitcoin is the solution.
Gov. is the problem (and banks).

Don't let gov. and politics build money flux ... they fail ... ALWAYS ... every 50 years (or less).

What worries me the most is that I actually hear quite a few people (in my own circles), saying that they wouldn't mind if cash disapeared.
I've had a long conversation with my girlfriend about this, who also thought initially that it would be better if everything was just digital but managed to convince her eventually that it might not be as good as it sounds.

To keep it short, I think too many people still rely heavily on cash and it would not be a good idea to keep everything financial under heavy government control (extensive monitoring etc.)

Ah, so true. I can see where / when there's economic turmoil like in Greece this would be a huge issue. The government would have you by the balls and there would be nothing you could do about it.

No worry for me! I have bitcoins! They're illegal now? What's a bitcoin? Boom. Done. Lol.

Cash and fiat is going to die off pretty soon as the globe becomes more digitalized. This movement is already beginning. We can see this in the example of India. They recently took out the largest note. Soon there is only going to be coins available.

its a good news for digital currency and cryptocurrency is including with this and i am happy that one more country make a planning transition and i am sure that many country will be follow this way and in future, we can see that cash is making a new era and make syncronize with digital currency.

1+2) ok
3) why no interest? banks should pay interest otherwise what is the point of putting your money with them. i prefer storing it in my mattress (or you know better bitcoin) rather than depositing in a bank if they don't pay any profit
4) money is already fully traceable so no change there :D

5) actually i think bitcoin usage will grow more if this is implemented. if it is successful people will see the benefits of using a digital crypto currency and it is obvious that a decentralized one which they can use globally is a lot better than a centralized government controlled coin which no other country will accept.

Totally agree,  if they created crypto, I don't think it would be different from cash but the form.
What the difference between their crypto and using cash except people don't need to bring cash anymore.
The value stil same, trackable, still centralized and they could control it.
Bitcoin much better than these kind of banks system, that's why people interested to use it.

I wouldn't say pretty soon for fiat. But yes cash will die soon, almost everyone now uses credit or other cash wallets to use fiat mostly cash is only used where these things cannot to used that pretty less. But fiat overall will not die this soon, i dont think it will die at all, the country's government wont allow fiat to die because its kinda a loss for them.

The public do not care now, but once they lose the freedom that cash offer them now, they might appreciate Bitcoin's pseudo-anonymity more. The other thing is, Bitcoin is out there and it is a decentralized currency that cannot be stopped now. If it has to, it can go underground. < Black markets >

They will also not ban it globally, so you can cross borders and use it in the countries where it is not banned.  

Its just a transformation from the paper money to digital paper money. This won't make big impact over the economic growth. The current move might be to make advancement among people to use currencies digitally with card swipes. This might get bitcoin acceptance among people in future when they complete get into digital using.

If sweden plans to transform thier currency in Digital Currency, what could it be? There's so many cryptocurrency that they can choose to use. Or will they create a new one that will carry the name of their country? If sweden started using Digital Currency, how would the other country embrace their new way or method of payment. Then what country will follow this steps?

So this is basically like they create their own crypto but a centralized cryptocurrency,  sounds good however it can make the transaction is faster, being eco-friendly and also cutting much cost , I am worried about bitcoin existance in that country if they really create it as you predict bitcoin might be banned out there.
Nowdays government especially banks are interested on blockchain technology, then i truly believe 100 Years later we will not see existence of the cash  anymore.

This is the dark future,i guess.

Let`s see if this will become true and will this experiment work.

This might work in Sweden,but won`t work in other countries,i quess.

If they ban cash how will they pay for their illegal drugs and prostitutes?

         But there is a significant difference between  the logic that created bitcoin and those who are considering to do the swedish government. Sweden is considering to create a virtual currency, they call it 'ekrona',  that is under the control of the Central Bank of Sweden and not the decentralized nature between bitcoins exchange. Also they think of different technologies not only the blockchain technology http://uk.businessinsider.com/swedish-central-bank-considers-digital-national-currency-ekrona-2016-11 (http://uk.businessinsider.com/swedish-central-bank-considers-digital-national-currency-ekrona-2016-11).

You need to establish a secondary market / economy and go f_ck for drug ...

 ;D

BTW India might be next.... that's some magnitudes higher than Sweden. China ?

Damn digitalized fiat is like the ultimate spying tool for the government. We are headed towards a dystopian future where the world is controlled by big evil corporations. And the worst thing is that the government could shutdown your finances with the snap of a finger because all they have to do is contact the bank you have an account at and freeze your money permanently or temporarily and because you have no paper cash any more you are basically screwed. I see a big sinister plot of world domination unfolding in the far future  ;D

All scandi countries have been talking about this for at least 5 years. That the Swedes are making some kinda spreadhsheet really isn't news.

A great way to rip people off. Truly a nightmare. Instead of fighting against the crime lords, they are punishing innocent people. Unacceptable.

That's one of the things i was afraid of when i created this topic: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1632435.0

It seems Gold is about to make its all time high soon. Gotta collect moar while its cheap.

That's exactly what will happen, since they will can track their digital currency, they will ban every other that's anonymous.

Rich and small countries will be the fisrt to take this position about digital currency, it's much more hard to cheat the system in this way, some people can see something good here and some people can see something evil...

It's a no-brainer that when this happens in Sweden and other countries, people become accustomed to going fully digital and later see just what governments and banks are then able to do that bitcoin or a substitute peer to peer crypto currency will then make sense to the average person and will become much more widespread.

This is a move that can be really good to bitcoin as more people will see bitcoin as an example for a virutal currency that successed and will become more aware to bitcoin.
The more governments start be aware to digital currencies and blockchain,then the better chance  that bitcoin will keep growing.

And you think the governments and banks will allow this?

The whole point of a move to digital currency is to enable central banks to have tighter control and more tools to influence the economy.

Who on earth would use a currency that is fully traceable by the government ?  i hate the thought of it.  Bitcoin will thrive in this scenario.

Over the years, I see an increase in "how to buy physical gold" topics online. Paper money was only created because it's more convenient than gold, and it quickly turned into something they could easily print, creating more money out of thin air. Lately they don't even print it anymore, just add a number on a computer and it's there.
If government keeps pushing this, we could actually go back to some metal pieces or anything else (BTC) of value that government can't control.
In short: gold > coins > paper > digital > back to gold?

It's already a huge problem if once in a while electronic payments in a supermarket don't work. I pay cash as much as possible, and use my cards as backup. People should watch less TV-commercials, for years banks are trying to push their way.

Or terrorism. This sums up all the reasons government has to ban cash, and at the same time know exactly who spends what, where and when.

I'm not sure if everyone is good with the government tracking their purchases of "real feel" 12" black dildos and extra large butt plugs either. The used panty market might dry up too.

http://www.ownmypanties.com

That's where Bitcoin will fit right in, dude  ;D Anonymous purchasing of sex toys & illegal drugs online. I bet the government officials themselves are going to use Bitcoin online for their more 'kinky' deals so to speak  ;)

i've heard it's gonna be bbq coin because that's the tastiest crypto out there. the swedish government has deposited 3.5 trillion dollars on yobit and their buying bot starts in 6 hours. buying ends at 2100 on sunday. you better stack up beforehand.

Yep, if US president Bill Clinton had paid Monica Lewinsky in Bitcoin we probably would never have known he got a blow job in the White House.

I think you are wrong. If he had paid her anything at all, then the whole world wouldn't have known that she has given him a blow job. But because old Bill was a cheapskate and skimped on the bribe he got outed  ;D

That's too bad. He should have thrown her a little something more than his bone.  ;)

Do you think the people in scandinavia love it when they pay between 50 and 60% of their income in taxes so they can have this safety net? I doubt it.

Well,basically the process is controlled again,so there is no real difference except for the means of payment but the things that make BTC and cryptocurrencies unique and so special aren't predicted to be used-so it is pointless and actually doesn't change anything-people need real change,not a proclamation of something that sounds similar but in fact is so far from the original idea

Well i think its great .that slowly and slowly people are shifting to cryptocurrency .but bitcoins i doubt .well its a long way to go .u gotta understand that bitcoins are not fluuctuate and tends to change a lot .thats y its still a long way to go ..kudoos :)

This stuff really irks me,as the majority of the people will see this as a great thing till the real plan is ushered in.
Get us all comfortable with cryptocurrency through government and then slowly charge people for stupid stuff...

- Tax on use of roads taken directly from wallet based on your gps
- Negative interest rates
- Overbearing tax grabs at tax time (Meaning they take more than you owe and are slow to pay back for the mistake giving you no interest)

Its a sad state for the future if we let these government powers hijack something that could free us completely from their grasps.
Looks like its going to one or the other now,instead of having the option to spread your eggs out in different facets of investment.

Seems very NWO like and the issues we see are nowhere close to what they have planned.

It is sort of nice and interesting but the problem is that 'begins planning' is far from reality. And yet if we imagine they did it: how will that effect bitcoin? Well, I think it will get an opponent, at least, and we will be able to see whether btc ideology or nice progressive government wins in this battle.

Yes and it is just new style to following because the government use fiat money and not digital currency, it is mean they still be control everything. I am doubt it will become successful in markets, they just wanna be seen different with use name of digital currency.

I can imagine as well that many people who have no clue about bitcoin will not see a reason to switch to bitcoin when they are already using a digital currency.
For them digital money is all the same, so it could really be possible that digital fiat money will have a negative effect on the growth of bitcoin.

Oh yes, they love it. They think it's necessary. I don't know much Sweden actually, but in Norway and Denmark, the feeling of individuality is much less than in America or the rest of Europe. People think they belong to society.

I agree. All the happiness surveys indicate that people in Scandinavian countries are amongst the happiest in the world. Factors like high GDP/capita, social support, life expectancy and freedom to make choices contribute to this. Apparently, the big bite that the tax man makes doesn't make them feel sad.  :)

One of my sociology professors, back in the Stone Age when I was in college, called that dynamic "societal homogeneity". What that means is they are like one big family. They are homogeneous in looks and ancestry. Would you suffer to give money to a less privileged family member? Of course, we as people help family first. One of my Hispanic friends called it, "Amor de mi raza" (the love of my race). He helps his "rasa" above all others.

What if your whole country was your "rasa"? How would you act?

I think if an entire country decides to switch it's whole economy to a digital currency it would be of their own government created coin and not bitcoin.
I doubt any government total trusts their whole nation's welfare on a unstable currency such that bitcoin is known to be.

The blockchain is really a wonderful technology and still in it's infancy. I can't fathom the idea when it is fully developed, it will really be an innovation for mankind. I think on what they failed to see is that Bitcoin has been already established, and is well known throughout this world. We know there are alts that are growing but Bitcoin started it all, it's like the mother of all cryptocurrencies. They have their own thoughts on still being in control of the currency and the trace-ability of every transactions made to prevent illegal activity. We will see on how they can achieve their digital currency in the future.

Sweden was always very prompt to do all kind of bad things. I'm so glad to have all my fortune in bitcoins, as I know that with gold that would be more complicated. If you have to run away from your house and never come back, you better take a discrete USB key than a gold bars.

That's what I think of the future implementation of crypto-currencies. Big banks or governments will probably create a new type of coin, based on the source of bitcoin so they can control it in some way, and people will probably switch to that currency because bitcoin will probably we outlawed then.

I'm trying to convince my dad to buy unleast one bitcoin and to store it somewhere untill the price jumps, but he's kind of sceptical. But tbh, I'm telling that to ecvery person I know, and people all around the world should do that no matter if their country does something like sweden, like imposing a new way of currency.

Let me give you the answer in advance to that. Bitcoin will be the winner as it is not controlled by any government or by any central bank. Even if Sweden makes a successful transition to this Digital Currency of theirs it will be no match for bitcoin. In fact I think it will be another altcoin for people to play with.

Man you say that countries are moving from cash to crypto and you show us Sweden's example but if it won't be bitcoin or any other altcoin ( can't understand ) and that will be trackable also, than isn't this against cryptocurrency rules? They are made for anonymous transactions. Also I can't see any idea on that because if they are going to do all like you said, than we are already using simple payment methods and it has no estimation to be added.

Digital currency doesn't mean sweeden will adopt bitcoin may they has create their own currency under control local bank. as an example paypal,neteller,skrill,paycash,etc it's digital currency so if they have their own digital currency it will not against cryptocurrency rules.

"it is not controlled by any government or by any central bank" and that may be the main thing why bitcoin probably won't be accepted that easily in the mainstream payment options. If it was to be accepted there might be some restrictions to that or some catch for them to earn out of it, otherwise like this, it is likely to stay like this, as a secondary option and it may never replace fiat currency fully just because of that. Banks are korazy, yo.

It's funny, pocket change is the only fiat that has any intrinsic value.   Not just the silver stuff, but any metal.  I'll take pocket change any day.  And bitcoin of course.

It's a new and interesting world we're living in.   I'm definitely not all for going digital,  but there's really no way to stop it.   We'll see how it works out for the Swedes.