Paulo Pinto
Alti Wine Exchange founding member
Greetings, dear reader.
Huge change is coming to Europe thanks to the European Central Bank (ECB). Hardly good news, as this is poised to mean not only more inflation, but ever-growing control of citizens’ lives.
I’m referring to the proposed digital euro. An idea that speaks volumes also about what’s coming out of central banks in their current trend.
I’m shocked the media hasn’t picked up on this yet, but there’s thankfully room for debate. Let’s get to it.
But more in a minute.
It’s been already three years since my father went to hospital never to return home. He died of unknown reasons and I feel I let him down, not making enough. I had a difficult relationship with my father, but I guess he was doing his job of parenthood as best as he knew.
With him there was no teaching, there was only learning. He grew up poor, yet he did alright for himself. I was sent to the best schools, yet I didn’t think I was good enough and I carried that all my life. This made me either too trusting or too suspicious of those working with me, because I believed I always had something lacking.
For that reason, probably, my work was my life, with no hobbies outside capital markets, crazy hours every single day and no room left for anything else. It turns out I was very good at what I have done all my life in capital markets: I was able to stand up and I was able to solve problems, but I was not able to be a present father to my son – and, in a way, I repeated the mistakes I saw growing up.
I wanted to believe that just being a good role model was enough, but like in business, you should not resort to believe – just do it.
Will come back to this next time, because parenting is probably the most important thing in one’s life, and it’s a good topic that should interest most of you.
* * * * *
But the topic today is the digital euro.
What is problematic with the idea of a digital euro?
I have been warning Alti Wine Exchange subscribers for months about issues with money. Now I read a European Central Bank report about the digital euro to be launched sometime this year (2021), with arguments to take the cash out of your wallet and replace it with a digital currency.
When this happens, it will change forever the way we spend, save and invest, but more important: governments will have complete knowledge and control over any transaction. This is the totalitarian dream, with governments having total control over the individual.
I can already see the digital euro being sold to the public as a way of distributing money more efficiently for Covid relief. Could this be?
A Google search on the Venezuelan petro digital currency gives us the reassurance of what is coming: “Maduro ‘Gifts’ Petros to Venezuelans for Christmas”. “Venezuela’s Maduro: Airlines must use petros to pay for fuel”.
With the digital currency, the government of Venezuela can censor, freeze, sanction or confiscate any digital petros whenever it wants, for whatever reason.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see the same thing happening when the digital euro is introduced.
A digital euro is what comes next, and we are going to see much more inflation on our way to a cashless society.
That is why we have to position ourselves accordingly, by buying fine and rare wine at Alti Wine Exchange. A consumer product that can be sold later at inflated prices.
The prospect of inflation protection with upside revaluation in our bottles is the way to go, in my opinion.