FACT CHECK: Are Over 75% of the World’s Countries Adopting the New BRICS Payment System?

As of now, the number of nations formally part of BRICS or its recent expansion plans remains limited

Paul Gosar proposes printing $500 bills featuring Trump's portrait



Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona has introduced a measure that would order the printing of $500 bills emblazoned with a portrait of former President Donald Trump, according to a press release.

The measure has been dubbed the "Treasury Reserve Unveiling Memorable Portrait (TRUMP) Act."

'As Bidenflation continues to devalue our currency, the issuance of $500 bills featuring President Trump by the Treasury offers several practical advantages.'

The proposal would amend the Federal Reserve Act by adding, "The Secretary of the Treasury shall print Federal reserve notes in the denomination of $500 and, notwithstanding section 5114(b) of title 31, United States Code, such notes shall feature a portrait of the 45th President of the United States."

Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is seeking to defeat President Joe Biden during the election later this year.

"As Bidenflation continues to devalue our currency, the issuance of $500 bills featuring President Trump by the Treasury offers several practical advantages. First, larger-value currency will empower Americans with the freedom of more tangible options to save and exchange goods and services. Additionally, the absence of large-denomination currency issued by the Treasury encourages Americans to rely on digital banking, which faces greater vulnerability to surveillance and censorship," Gosar said in a statement.

"Furthermore, from a collector’s perspective, these $500 Trump bills will become highly sought after, generating revenue for the government through increased demand for numismatic items. Collectors often covet currency with unique designs and historical significance and bills featuring the very popular 45th President will attract considerable attention from collectors. This will no doubt create a market for the $500 Trump bills far beyond their face value and increase the seigniorage earnings of the government, thus increasing overall revenues," he added.

Currently, $100 bills are the largest denomination being issued in the U.S.

"United States currency denominations above $100 are not available from the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve System, or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing," according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. "On July 14, 1969, the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System announced that currency notes in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 would be discontinued immediately due to lack of use. Although they were issued until 1969, they were last printed in 1945."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Joe Rogan and Post Malone sound off on central bank digital currencies: 'No f***ing way. ... That's checkmate.'



Joe Rogan and musician Post Malone discussed the dangers of cash-killing central bank digital currencies on the Aug. 8 episode of the "Joe Rogan Experience."

While Malone appeared cynical about the present financial system, intimating the state and powers that be already enjoy too much control over Americans' spending and finances, Rogan indicated it could get much worse.

When asked how he felt about CBDCs, Rogan fired back, saying, "No f***ing way. No way. That's what I think. That's checkmate. That's game over."

Malone agreed, "That is f***ing checkmate."

The push for CBDCs in the West and around the world has taken on new momentum in recent months.

TheBlaze previously reported that the International Monetary Fund is working on a platform to ensure interoperability between CBDCs, whereby central banks would control their respective vaporous fiat currencies but adopt a single global ledger and adhere to international standards.

The Biden administration hinted that it might be on board, noting in a September 2022 report that among the policy objectives for an American CBDC would be interoperability and transferability with the global financial system.

Last year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hyped the prospect of a U.S. CBDC, stating it could "potentially help maintain the dollar's international standing" and possibly "improve on an already safe and efficient domestic payments system."

The Federal Reserve's 2022 paper, "Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation," cited the adoption of CBDCs as a way toward greater inclusivity, stating, "A CBDC could reduce common barriers to financial inclusion and could lower transaction costs, which could be particularly helpful for lower-income households."

Nationally syndicated radio host and co-founder of Blaze Media Glenn Beck underscored earlier this year that the problem with a CBDC is that "there is no physical cash. There’s even [a physical aspect] with Bitcoin — you can take it on a thumb drive and you stick it in your pocket, or you can move it from one off-ramp to another. Just memorize your seed phrase, that’s all … but it’s yours."

Conversely, with a CBDC, it's only electronic, "only in the Federal Reserve System," noted Beck.

Extra to stressing that the "federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has made clear that even if it did, it would be a bad idea.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has indicated this bad idea is ultimately "about surveillance and control."

Accordingly, he has banned CBDCs in Florida and told Tucker Carlson that as president, he would "nix central bank digital currency. Done. Dead. Not happening in this country," reiterating that it is a "massive threat to American liberty."

Building on his response to Malone, Rogan warned there will inevitably be trouble if "they apply [CBDCs] to a social credit score — if they decide somehow or another that you need some social credit score system and it's for the benefit of society — and they outline that they can track your behavior and your tweets and all your things, and you get a score."

Nigel Farage, the former English politician who proved instrumental in the 2020 restoration of British sovereignty via Brexit, was recently debanked by a giant British financial organization over his tweets and un-woke views.

Farage, having seen firsthand what traditional banks are already willing to do to conservatives with allegedly unacceptable views, made a similar claim to Rogan in a video Sunday, noting that the push "towards a cashless society" will likely usher in "a social credit system where only if you obey the prevailing orthodoxy of the day can you take part in life."

Malone told Rogan that ship has sailed — that social credit scores are already here, "they just haven't released the f***ing report cards. They didn't send the report cards home to the parents yet. ... Everything is already imprinted. Everything is already tracked. Everything is already there."

Rogan contended that the technocrats set upon the elimination of cash and regulation of behavior "just can't control you to the same extent that they would like. And what they would like to do is to strip you of your money and to be able to lock you down and then make sure you comply."

Outside communist-controlled China, this tactic has already been used to great effect in Canada under the Trudeau government.

Canadian banks in concert with the Trudeau government began freezing accounts of people linked to the trucker demonstrations as a means to snuff out the peaceful populist protest, which was critical of vaccine mandates.

Rogan indicated that the state's ability to make examples of dissenters by stripping them of their money will preclude others from standing up: "They don't want everything they worked for just be taken away instantly overnight and be powerless. No one to call. No one's going to answer your phone. They just decided you f***ed up, and the rules are the rules."

Beyond just eliminating dissent, the podcast host indicated that state actors will ultimately abuse this ability upon realizing they can fill their coffers and pockets with Americans' confiscated digital currencies.

A February CATO study highlighted that in addition to CBDCs enabling governments to freeze someone's financial resources with greater ease and speed, having established "a direct line between citizens and the government itself," policymakers would be able to set negative interest rates, thereby forcing spending by causing people to lose money.

The study also highlighted how the government would be positioned to bar people from spending their money on certain goods or services.

Watch Rogan and Malone's CBDC conversation:

— (@)

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

IMF working on global platform and single ledger for all cash-killing national digital currencies



The International Monetary Fund is working on a platform to ensure interoperability between cash-killing central bank digital currencies.

Under the proposed common regulatory framework, central banks would control their respective CBDCs but adopt a single global ledger and adhere to international standards, thereby ensuring their digital currencies are not regionally fenced in, reported Reuters.

"CBDCs should not be fragmented national propositions," IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told a conference attended Monday by various African banks in Morocco. "To have more efficient and fairer transactions we need systems that connect countries: We need interoperability. ... For this reason at the IMF, we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform."

To avoid generating a vacuum that could be allegedly exploited by decentralized cryptocurrencies, Georgieva suggested it is prudent for the 114 central banks presently exploring the possibility of implementing CBDCs, including the "10 already crossing the finish line," to reflect on the possible advantages of going beyond their domestic employment. A failure to do so, she suggested, would otherwise mean the under-utilization of noncompliant nations' CBDCs and their transformation into "settlement blocks."

Georgieva stressed, "We will pursue relentlessly together" the development of CBDCs.

\u201c"At the IMF we are working hard on the concept of a global CBDC platform": IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva https://t.co/Py7JLMovuc\u201d
— Tim Hinchliffe (@Tim Hinchliffe) 1687184000
IMF officials at the conference in Morocco further claimed that globalized CBDCs would promote financial inclusion and make remittances cheaper, particularly when money transfers presently cost 6.3% or $44 billion annually.

Cointelegraph reported that the IMF's director of the monetary and capital markets department, Tobias Adrian, indicated the "cross-border
payments and contracting platform" would enable central banks to better intervene in foreign exchange markets, collect data on capital flows, and resolve disputes.

Adrian suggested in a corresponding June 19 IMF report that interoperability will depend upon the adoption of a shared international ledger where digital representations of central bank reserves in all currencies could be exchanged, adding that "the CBDC platform should not bar the private sector from operating its own ledgers offering settlement and programming functionalities."

The Biden White House released a report on an American CBDC in September, noting that among the policy objectives for a possible U.S. CBDC would be interoperability and transferability with the global financial system.

"The CBDC system should be appropriately interoperable. The CBDC system should, where appropriate and consistent with other policy priorities, facilitate transactions with other currencies and systems, such as physical cash, commercial bank deposits, CBDCs issued by other monetary authorities, and the global financial system," said the report. "The CBDC system should be designed to avoid risks of harm to the international monetary system and financial system."

The White House suggested that if the U.S. pursued a CBDC, "there could be many possible benefits, such as facilitating efficient and low-cost transactions, fostering greater access to the financial system, boosting economic growth, and supporting the continued centrality of the U.S. within the international financial system."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is one of the more outspoken critics of an American CBDC.

TheBlaze previously reported that Cruz, who has argued the "federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency," has introduced legislation, (S.887), co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), that would prevent the Federal Reserve from following the lead of totalitarian regimes like China in establishing a central bank digital currency. The bill notes that a CBDC would be used as a "financial surveillance tool by the federal government."

Some critics of the IMF's proposed platform reckon localized abuses would be globalized.

British entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate Layah Heilpern claimed that under the proposed framework, "if you say the wrong thing in one country, you'll have nowhere to flee as they can switch your money off anywhere in the world in any jurisdiction," adding that this effort evidences a fear of losing financial control amid the emergence of decentralized cryptocurrencies.

The CATO Institute published a study in February that identified a number of faults with a CBDC, emphasizing that it would "most likely be the single largest assault to financial privacy since the creation of the Bank Secrecy Act and the establishment of the third-party doctrine."

The study indicated that a CBDC will make the process by which governments freeze someone's financial resources — as Canadian banks did in concert with the Trudeau government in its crackdown efforts on peaceful protesters in 2022 — easier and faster, having established "a direct line between citizens and the government itself."

A single global ledger may, to Heilpern's point, make extend the reach of various regimes.

Carol Roth, author of "You Will Own Nothing," noted earlier this year in TheBlaze, "Whether it is the Fed, the IMF, or otherwise, whoever controls the money controls your access to opportunities, your ability to access goods and services, and ultimately your life."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

If China’s Yuan Usurps The Dollar, The World Economy Will Be At Communists’ Whims

If the Chinese yuan were to become the global reserve currency, it would, in essence, give the CCP the ability to cripple entire nations.

Sen. Ted Cruz introduces bill to prevent the Fed from establishing a central bank digital currency



Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at preventing the Federal Reserve from following the lead of totalitarian regimes like China in establishing a central bank digital currency. The legislation (S.887), co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), cites as cause the eventuality that a CBDC would be used as a "financial surveillance tool by the federal government."

"The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency," Cruz said in a statement.

Cruz noted that the bill, which has been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, "goes a long way in making sure big government doesn’t attempt to centralize or control cryptocurrency and instead, allows it to thrive in the United States. We should be empowering entrepreneurs, enabling innovation, and increasing individual freedom — not stifling it."

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested in June 2022 that an American CBDC could "potentially help maintain the dollar's international standing," noting that the Fed was considering whether it might "improve on an already safe and efficient domestic payments system."

While the Fed may think it worth looking into, Braun noted a U.S. CBDC "is simply a bad idea."

"The federal government should not have even more control over your own money," added Braun.

Nationally syndicated radio host and co-founder of Blaze Media Glenn Beck recently underscored that the problem with a CBDC is that "there is no physical cash. There’s even [a physical aspect] with Bitcoin — you can take it on a thumb drive and you stick it in your pocket, or you can move it from one off-ramp to another. Just memorize your seed phrase, that’s all … but it’s yours."

Conversely, with a CBDC, it's only electronic, "only in the Federal Reserve System," noted Beck.

The CATO Institute published a study last month that identified a number of faults with a CBDC, emphasizing that it would "most likely be the single largest assault to financial privacy since the creation of the Bank Secrecy Act and the establishment of the third-party doctrine."

The study indicated that a CBDC will make the process by which governments freeze someone's financial resources — as Canadian banks did in concert with the Trudeau government in its crackdown efforts on peaceful protesters in 2022 — easier and faster, having established "a direct line between citizens and the government itself."

Policymakers would also be able to set negative interest rates, thereby forcing spending by causing people to lose money.

In addition to a loss of transparency and the ability to force spending, the government would also be put in a position where it could prohibit people from buying certain goods (e.g., alcohol).

Cruz's Tuesday statement advanced another concern raised in the CATO study: A CBDC would leave Americans' financial information vulnerable to attack. The study noted recent IRS data breaches have evidenced the fallout that might occur in the event that hundreds of millions of Americans' sensitive financial information was centralized, then breached.

Grassley raised the matter that a decision this impactful should not be made by government bureaucrats, but rather by elected representatives of the American people.

Even then, Grassley stressed that the "American people ought to be able to spend their money how they choose without the possibility that every transaction could be tracked by the government."

Cruz introduced his bill one day after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced legislation to ban CBDCs in Florida.

"The Biden administration’s efforts to inject a Centralized Bank Digital Currency is about surveillance and control," DeSantis said in a statement. "Today’s announcement will protect Florida consumers and businesses from the reckless adoption of a 'centralized digital dollar' which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance."

DeSantis' office suggested that a federally controlled CBDC was "the most recent way the Davos elites are attempting to backdoor woke ideology like Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) into the United States financial system, threatening individual privacy and economic freedom."

Concerning DeSantis' initiative, Foundation for Government Accountability CEO Tarren Bragdon said, "Our money says In God We Trust. The central bank digital currency changes that to In Government We Trust. That’s wrong and I am grateful for the Governor’s continued pushback of an out-of-control DC bureaucracy."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!