fred speaks in this essay about how to eliminate the drug trade overnight;

As perhaps most now know, China is preparing a digital currency with which it intends to replace cash entirely, and other countries, including the US, are considering the idea. Conservatives and libertarians will shriek, pull their hair, and turn blue at the idea, perhaps with good reason—which doesn’t matter since it is going to happen anyway.

How would it work? Digital currencies have many interesting qualities, but here we will look only at a few relevant to this column. First, you download the app like any other. It gives you a QR code and requires a face scan and perhaps a fingerprint scan, so that only you can use your money. Second, details of every transaction are recorded: time, place, name, and amount of every payment., from whom to whom. Most people won’t care since most people don’t do anything illegal, which will facilitate acceptance.

What effects would it have? Many and astonishing. A universal digital currency, combined with cashlessness, would wipe out the illegal drug trade overnight. At street level, every speedball sold would be paid for by the addict to the corner dealer, with the time, place, amount, buyer, and seller being recorded. The pattern caused by a dealer’s making repeated sales would be easily detected by AI algorithms. When the street-level guy bought a new kilo or whatever from his own dealer, this would instantly be flagged. When Pedro of Mexico wanted to sell a large batch to DeShawn in Chicago, the deal would stand out like sanity in a Democratic administration. Getting around this would be extremely difficult if not (more likely) impossible...........read more....