Weekly Market Update by Retirement Lifestyle Advocates

          It’s as unsettling as it is interesting.

          As I have been observing from time to time in “Portfolio Watch”, there are currency changes taking place around the world.

          As I noted last week, citing an article from Michael Maharrey, the move away from the US Dollar worldwide is accelerating, with China and Brazil the most recent countries to execute a trade agreement that bypasses the US Dollar in bilateral trade.  The agreement has the two countries using their own currencies rather than the US Dollar.

          Saudi Arabia has already announced that the country would entertain using currencies other than the US Dollar for the country’s oil sales.

          This past week, currency changes continued.  The International Monetary Fund announced a new digital currency called “The Universal Monetary Unit”.  This from Michael Snyder (Source:  http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-imf-has-just-unveiled-a-new-global-currency-known-as-the-universal-monetary-unit-that-is-supposed-to-revolutionize-the-world-economy/):

          A new global currency just launched, but 99 percent of the global population has no idea what just happened. The “Universal Monetary Unit”, also known as “Unicoin”, is an “international central bank digital currency” that has been designed to work in conjunction with all existing national currencies. This should set off alarm bells for all of us, because the widespread adoption of a new “global currency” would be a giant step forward for the globalist agenda. The IMF did not create this new currency, but it was unveiled at a major IMF gathering earlier this week…

Today, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings 2023, the Digital Currency Monetary Authority (DCMA) announced their official launch of an international central bank digital currency (CBDC) that strengthens the monetary sovereignty of participating central banks and complies with the recent crypto assets policy recommendations proposed by the IMF.

Universal Monetary Unit (UMU), symbolized as ANSI Character, Ü, is legally a money commodity, can transact in any legal tender settlement currency, and functions like a CBDC to enforce banking regulations and to protect the financial integrity of the international banking system.

          As the press release quoted above indicates, this new “Universal Monetary Unit” was created by the Digital Currency Monetary Authority.

          So who in the world is the Digital Currency Monetary Authority?

          Honestly, I had no idea until I started doing research for this article.

          The press release says that the organization consists of “sovereign states, central banks, commercial and retail banks, and other financial institutions”…

The DCMA is a world leader in the advocacy of digital currency and monetary policy innovations for governments and central banks. Membership within the DCMA consists of sovereign states, central banks, commercial and retail banks, and other financial institutions.

          Basically, it sounds like a secretive cabal of international banks and national governments is conspiring to push this new currency down our throats.

          We are being told that the “Universal Monetary Unit” is “‘Crypto 2.0”, and those that created it are hoping that it will be widely adopted by “all constituencies in a global economy”…

The DCMA introduces Universal Monetary Unit as Crypto 2.0 because it innovates a new wave of cryptographic technologies for realizing a digital currency public monetary system with a widespread adoption framework encompassing use cases for all constituencies in a global economy.

          I don’t know about you, but this sounds super shady to me.

          Of course, the Digital Currency Monetary Authority is not the only one that has been working on a new digital currency.

          The UK has also been working on one.

          The same is true for the European Union.

          And would it surprise anyone that the Biden administration is touting the potential benefits of a “digital form of the U.S. dollar”? The following comes from the official White House website…

A United States central bank digital currency (CBDC) would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar. While the U.S. has not yet decided whether it will pursue a CBDC, the U.S. has been closely examining the implications of, and options for, issuing a CBDC. 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.

          I don’t think that it is a coincidence that governments all over the Western world are simultaneously developing CBDCs.

          And the IMF has actually already put together an extensive handbook “to assist central banks and governments throughout the world in their CBDC rollouts”…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is putting together a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) handbook to assist central banks and governments throughout the world in their CBDC rollouts.

Published publicly on April 10, the “IMF Approach to Central Bank Digital Currency Capacity Development” report outlines the IMF’s multi-year strategy for aiding CBDC rollouts, including the development of a living “CBDC Handbook” for monetary authorities to follow.

          A lot of people out there will cheer when these digital currencies are introduced.

          But it is imperative to understand that once everyone is using them, your financial privacy will be almost totally gone.

          Authorities will be able to track virtually everything that you buy and sell, and I am sure that they won’t hesitate to use that information against you.

          Needless to say, the potential for tyranny in such a system is off the charts.

          Can you imagine a world in which you are restricted from buying meat for a while because you have already used your “carbon credits” for the month?

          Your “financial privileges” could potentially be restricted at any time at the whim of a government bureaucrat, and if you are a big enough troublemaker, you could be “de-platformed” from the system permanently.

          Of course, in order for such a system to have real teeth, cash and other forms of payment will need to be phased out, and that is precisely what is happening right now in Europe. The following comes from the official website of the European Parliament…

To restrict transactions in cash and crypto assets, MEPs want to cap payments that can be accepted by persons providing goods or services. They set limits up to €7000 for cash payments and €1000 for crypto-asset transfers, where the customer cannot be identified.

          Ultimately, they will just keep lowering the limits until the use of cash is almost completely eliminated.

          Everyone will be slowly but surely forced on to the new digital system, and it will be a system that they control with an iron fist.

          And most people will willingly go along with it. These days, most people are just scraping by from month to month, and one recent survey found that 70 percent of all Americans are “financially stressed” at this point.

          Most Americans simply do not care that these new digital currencies could open a door for great tyranny.

          They just want to be able to pay the bills and take care of their families, and if our politicians tell them that this new system is good for the economy, they will be all for it.

          But those of us that are awake know that more globalism doesn’t lead anywhere good.

          The radio program this week features an interview with Mr. Alasdair Macleod. 

          Alasdair is the Head of Research at Goldmoney.  I talk to Alasdair about the current health of the banking system and whether or not there are more banking failures on the horizon.  We also explore the currency changes that are happening around the globe presently. 

         You can listen to the interview now by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of this page.

“Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.”

                                                                -E. Joseph Cossman