At first glance, the two digital means of exchange mentioned above are similar because they are purely digital.

The huge difference is:

A CBDC is a digital form of currency issued by a central bank. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs have the full backing of the government. In other words, more local and controllable by those in power.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that uses a decentralized, virtual ledger (called a "blockchain") to record transactions that take place on its network. Anyone can send, receive, and hold Bitcoin because the network doesn't need approval from governments or banks to function. Users only need a wallet, a so-called digital "wallet", to store and send cryptocurrencies, and not a bank account.

By definition, both constructs are completely contrary to each other. CBDC first as a supplement, then as a substitute for paper money currencies, issued, managed and controlled by those in power.

BTC decentral, tradable away from power structures and without supervision.

The commonality of both constructs is digital creation, management and transferability.

The CBDC, as a substitute for physical money, makes all value transactions and possessions visible and controllable for the manager. A harmless example: People under the age of 18 cannot pay for goods with an age restriction of over 18. Welcome to the barter business. At this point, I refrain from any speculation about the purpose of CBDC, which is already underway in test projects. But when asked about practical possibilities, I find many answers that influence my previous feeling of freedom. There is only one thing I can exclude. The purpose will hardly be to prevent the creation of new, uncovered money as a problem solver.

What about decentralized crypto's now?

They are an interesting idea, an incredible object of speculation and in themselves everything that should make the powerful lose their tailcoats. But it doesn't seem to do. Otherwise, they would have been banned long ago. Instead, in the USA, THE FINANCIAL EMPIRE par excellence, regulated access to the former "devil's stuff" is now granted by means of tradable ETFs. Led by Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager, which is deeply embedded in the US power structures and is certainly not suspected by the opposition. The fact that even Blackrock, whose former German governor could probably become the next chancellor in Germany, was able to enforce this in court against the US financial supervisory authority, shows us a victory of the new against the old. Real? Even the commercial point of view, Blackrock's earning from every transfer of money into BTC and vice versa, still falls short for me. And to keep it in the family, the BTC that can be purchased in the USA via Blackrock are managed and stored by the crypto exchange "Coinbase". In this case, Coinbase is the interface between coin and paper money and the custodian of the tokens. Where is Coinbase based? That's right, in the USA.

As Don Corleone said in "The Godfather": You have to have your friends with you, your enemies even closer.

These ETFs are not yet tradable in Europe, China has already rammed a foot in the door of this billion-dollar market and launched its own crypto ETFs via Hong Kong.

Establishing a decentralized, power-independent medium of exchange is progressive, see gold. In contrast to the many thousands of years of gold, crypto is not yet 20 years old. The digital world has taken a clear shortcut and the spread of BTC is considerable in relation to its lifespan.

Market capitalization:

BTC is about 1.33 trillion USD.

For gold of about USD 15.55 trillion.

1.33 trillion USD in BTC, just behind tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabeth and the commodity silver. This arouses desires. Fluctuations of 10% and more per day are not uncommon and prove brisk capital transfers.

What are the weak points of BTC, where is the assets vulnerable?

1. The Wallet
2. The transfer
3. The Conversion

The Wallet

The wallet is a purely digital custody system for coins. Two variants are distinguished, the software and the hardware wallet. First of all, a principle: Everything digital is safe as long as someone can't find a way to crack it. And since high assets can be at stake here, legions of highly talented hackers with the best equipment are constantly looking for ways to hack wallets, which has often been successful and the coins have been cleared. In addition, there have already been cases where the wallet providers themselves have eloped with the assets. It is a constant race between the parties. As with the usual virus story with computers. In addition, access to the wallet via PC or smartphone is potentially at risk. There are many ways to penetrate the login, from malware to Trojans, fake sites or the classic keylogger. Even the seemingly secure multi-way authentication can be cracked.

A point that is known but little noticed: Microsoft has implemented a backdoor in their Windows operating systems, which can be used by US authorities, for example, for full, unnoticed access.

The transfer

Crypto's are sent and received via wallet address. The addresses are 26-35 alphanumeric characters long.

If even a single sign does not match, the transferred assets are irretrievably lost. In addition to typos, fraudsters are increasingly appearing here to forge wallet addresses.

The Conversion

Since the acceptance of crypto's in the purchase of goods and services is not yet very widespread. The owner is therefore usually dependent on converting his crypto's into a monetary currency at the exchanger and then paying them out via bank account. And this is where the vaunted anonymity comes to an end at the latest. This is where transparency for the bank and the tax authorities comes into payment transactions.

Now to the question of why it can be quite relevant for states to show a friendly face to Crypto's, even though they are the opposite of being system-friendly. It is the only chance to make crypto payment transactions and asset investment in Crypto's visible and to enable access. Whether the crypto exchange, the financial service provider or the wallet provider, everyone can be forced to disclose assets and transfers as well as holders. Cash accounts can be frozen, thus denying the owner access to assets.

But one more thought can be considered. Everything that has been created digitally can also be digitally inaccessible or erased. Expropriating assets by the state is all the easier the more bundled they are kept. And in the event of a case, only those who can prove their rightful attainment will sue for their possessions.

While access to crypto's is relatively easy today, custody, transfer, and reconversion require the highest level of attention and independent knowledge to avoid unauthorized access. In access by states, it is becoming more and more similar to the possibilities of bank money.

Just as anonymous numbered accounts at certain bank locations were brought out of anonymity and lack of transparency vis-à-vis the state, this is of course also the aim of the Crypto's.

A major driving force of the crypto world, anonymous asset custody, asset transfer and price gains are therefore in the focus of states and it is no coincidence that billions of such assets have already been confiscated by states.

Result:

Cryptocurrencies are an asset. They are considered 100%, there is nothing physical. This distinguishes you significantly from all other asset classes. They are considered a high-risk asset class and can only be insured with many restrictions.

This is one of the reasons why precious metals in physical form as coins and bars remain a proven means of storing value, which will probably not lose any of their importance in the future.

For all those who prefer physical precious metals to digital or paper currencies, all common bars and coins are available for investment in our online shop, as well as in the counter store in Berlin and Vienna.

www.goldinvest-edelmetalle.de/en