In the aftermath of violent riots and looting in France, the country's former intelligence chief, Pierre Brochand, has blamed the disorder on the mass immigration policies of the last 50 years.
The tests, which took place over 12 weeks with some of the world's leading banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., sought to evaluate the potential of digital currencies to enhance both domestic and international payment systems.
"By tracking every financial transaction, they will have access to every detail of our spending, the recipient of our money, and how we allocate our resources. In essence, it replicates George Orwell’s dystopian society depicted in 1984," critics have argued.