Christine Lagarde has officially ripped the band aid off. Earlier today she released a 1-minute video in which she announced that a digital euro has officially entered the "preparation phase". The move to a central bank digital currency regime is official upon us, freaks.

Ms. Lagarde assured European citizens that they will have full control over their money and cash will remain available to those who choose to use it. This can be viewed as a tactic meant to placate the people who are apprehensive about being cattle herded into a digital monetary panopticon. The "preparation phase" should be seen as the "light nudging toward normalization phase" during which people will be bombarded with propaganda that will let them know that the digital euro is a step function improvement from the incumbent euro system. Not only do European citizens have nothing to worry about, but they should be excited to usher in this "innovative" technology to reap the benefits of increased efficiencies.

Do not fall for any of it. The incumbent power structure is currently losing complete control of the financial system and the narrative. This is an acceleration to usher in a new system as they attempt to maintain control. It can unnerving because it is an overt admission that things are structurally broken behind the scenes. Nothing makes this clearer than the recent divergence between gold and 10-year real rates.

People are fleeing to the safety of hard assets as it becomes clearer that government debt has grown to unmanageable levels, inflation hasn't been properly tamed, and geopolitical uncertainty approaches escape velocity. The only option everyone, including governments, has is to jump ship. The question that remains is, where is everyone going to land? Will the despots in charge successfully ensure that everyone lands with their feet planted in a world running on CBDCs? Or will people find refuge in a world operating on a free market money; bitcoin? If we're being honest with ourselves, the former is most likely.

However, anyone who is building in bitcoin should see this as motivation to build out the products and services that can usher as many people into bitcoin as quickly as possible. Things are getting more and more chaotic in the world as the power structure loses its grip. There are going to be a number of distractions that highlight that the world is falling apart. Do not lose focus on the goal; ridding ourselves of unjust money controlled by a select few.

Take this move by the European Central Bank as a bullish sign that you are on the right path. We know they're losing. They know they're losing. And they know that we know that they're losing and we'll do anything they can to convince you otherwise. Do not fall prey to their attempts at persuasion and wizardry. Do not play their game. Remove yourself from their chess board and play a different game. Play the game with a strict rule set and transparent rules. That is the game built on top of bitcoin.

Final thought...

Getting a German car fixed is an expensive pain in the ass.