Banks have been supposedly ‘tracked’ for years in any case. There are multiple very valid reasons why this happens. I don’t think anyone can seriously make a case that Cash (and other anonymous payment vehicles) are not at the heart of much that is badly wrong with society.

IMO in any case, closure of anonymous payment mechanisms is set to happen as there is just way too much to gain for society, as a whole, for them to be ignored. Yes, that comes at a cost but for society, as a whole, the gain would be massive.

What is becoming incredibly important however (given the incredible level of power this puts in the hands of governments) is that the government is properly held to account, acts with greater transparency and increased democracy and that there are stronger controls on the power of the state. Ironically the technology itself would allow much of the above to happen.

Whatever your view, this issue, combined with privacy issues more generally and the level of control enabled by technology, is set to become a massive political battleground in the next few years. Whatever the outcome, it will be transformational.