USDC: The digital dollar made for everyone

'Money is now open', says this campaign by fintech company Circle. They describe the product being advertised thus: "USDC represents a new form of money that is as open as the internet itself. Open, democratic, and accessible. If the open internet unlocked so many ideas we now take for granted today, just imagine where open money could take us". Sounds good? Or sinister? Plenty of viewers would - and do - take issue with the ad's premise that the internet hasn't changed money.... We can probably all understand a challenge to that. Maybe the internet hasn't changed what we use money for, but the distinction here is cloudy enough to lay the campaign - and the tenets behind it - open to caution and criticism. Though many of us love the convenience of fast digital transactions, the alarm bells are also sounding about the importance of maintaining cash, the dangers of handing over money to an invisible and increasingly programmable system, and the approaching demise of the US dollar in the face of alternative financial systems from other economic giants like Russia and China. The USDC introduces a term that may be new to some of us - stablecoin. As the Circle website stresses: "Built for rapid, global payments and 24/7 financial markets, USDC is a regulated digital currency that can always be redeemed 1:1 for US dollars". What do you make of the campaign?

Keywords: Circle 'Money is now open', fintech Circle, digital money, open money, digital currencies, USDC, central bank digital currencies, stablecoin, Pensacola CANADA