There have been talks about central bank digital currency (CBDC), a kind of cryptocurrency that is backed by a central bank. Recently, China is rolling out digital yuan, its own version of CBDC (curiously, it's not using blockchain). Even though China is not the first country to have its CBDC, it's the first major economy to do so. Some people argue that CBDC will make bitcoin become obsolete, as in this article:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4418567-bitcoin-china-launched-digital-yuan-and-will-change-everythingPeople who support this view fail to realize that, while CBDC has some characteristics of a cryptocurrency, it is still very much a fiat currency. It can be inflated whenever the government wants to. It is not anomymous (one of the features that crypto users prefer). Users of CBDC do not have the freedom as crypto users do. CBDC may be a great contribution to the economy, but it will not replace bitcoin. In fact, I believe that CBDC may even make bitcoin more valuable. Why? Because with CBDC, it's easier to convert bitcoin to CBDC and vice versa, so people who hold bitcoin may not even need to use an exchange to convert their BTC to fiat, and people who want to buy bitcoin can easily do peer-to-peer transaction without using a bank account.
I long for the day when the Federal Reserve issues the digital dollar. It will make conversion between bitcoin and USD even easier, and we may not need to use an exchange service.
What do you think?