The following is a guest post and opinion from Laura Estefania, Founder and CEO of Conquista PR. Last weekend, the Madrid Economic Forum 2025 offered more than economic analysis. It became a reflection of Spain’s shifting political and cultural mood, especially on a question that cuts to the core of modern life: how much of
The post CBDCs, control and the economic debate shaping Spain’s future – surveillance and stagnation, or freedom? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The following is a guest post and opinion from Laura Estefania, Founder and CEO of Conquista PR.

Last weekend, the Madrid Economic Forum 2025 offered more than economic analysis. It became a reflection of Spain’s shifting political and cultural mood, especially on a question that cuts to the core of modern life: how much of our financial freedom are we willing to trade for digital convenience? From the specter of CBDCs to the broader debate over state surveillance and current economic policies, that tension was impossible to ignore.

Drawing more than 7,000 attendees and supported by Bit2Me, the forum brought together leading economic figures, entrepreneurs, and analysts. Yet the conversations extended well beyond economics to culture, politics, and the very ways we think about the future, protect freedom, and accumulate and transfer value.

More than 7,000 attendees passed through the forum’s stages, alongside a first-class lineup: Argentine President Javier Milei, economist Daniel Lacalle, tech thought leader Marc Vidal, serial entrepreneur Martín Varsavsky, political analyst Agustín Laje, economist Juan Ramón Rallo, and Spanish public figures such as Esperanza Aguirre and Albert Rivera, among many others. This diverse mix of voices offered a portrait of Spain’s economy and a lens into today’s most pressing political and cultural dilemmas.

Among debates on economic policy, pensions, security, and digital assets, one topic emerged with force: CBDCs. And not in a celebratory tone.

Marc Vidal issued a clear warning:

“CBDCs are not financial innovation. They are a potential instrument of control. And in many ways, they represent the exact opposite of what the crypto ecosystem stands for: individual freedom, decentralization, and privacy.”

His remarks resonated deeply in a forum that brought together not only economists and business leaders but also political scientists, journalists, analysts, and politicians who have spent decades observing and shaping Spain’s evolution.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Latin America is moving in the opposite direction. In countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, adopting decentralized digital assets, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and alternative payment systems has surged in response to chronic inflation, distrust in national currencies, and the need to preserve financial freedom.

There, far from demonizing these tools, millions of citizens use them daily as a store of value and means of exchange, in an environment where Europe’s heavy-handed regulation would be almost inconceivable. The contrast could not be starker.

A paradigm shift: From the “Spanish miracle” to digital surveillance

Martín Varsavsky left his mark with his personal journey, as an international entrepreneur, with both failures and successes, and a constant drive to tackle the world’s problems one company at a time, while also praising Spain as a country where one can live, innovate, and prosper. And yet: change is coming.

As Varsavsky reminded the audience, Spain in the 1990s was a nation in transformation: building high-speed rail, opening its economy, and modernizing infrastructure. But it was also less digital, less interconnected, and, in some ways, more free on a personal level.

Today, technology has transformed the playing field. CBDCs, introduced under the banner of facilitating payments and modernizing the financial system, bring an unsettling possibility: that every transaction might be monitored, traced, or even conditioned by political decisions.

“This is not science fiction,” Vidal stressed. “It is a real risk, already evident in pilot programs in other countries. And Spain, as part of the eurozone, is not immune to this trend.”

The cost of control: How fiscal policy is strangling Spain’s entrepreneurs

In a forum that celebrated the freedom enabled by digital assets and digital entrepreneurship, the message was clear: CBDCs risk becoming a Trojan horse for a more centralized and surveilled financial system.

Spain has certainly changed. It is a more open, more connected country, more integrated into Europe, whatever the European dream might have been. Yet it still carries old burdens: a risk-averse mindset, a fiscal and regulatory environment that penalizes private initiative, and a political culture that has neither known how nor wanted to foster wealth creation.

Spain’s tax authorities, for example, have significantly intensified their scrutiny of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and businesses under new and ongoing fiscal control measures that are often perceived as draconian. Tax audits and inspections can involve exhaustive reviews of all company and personal financial records, with refusal to comply punished by fines of up to €600,000, and even criminal prosecution in serious cases.

Increasingly, the Tax Agency targets complex corporate operations, from mergers to asset contributions, especially when lacking clear economic rationale. Entrepreneurs must also contend with heightened risks around everyday practices: irregular invoicing, non-standard payment methods, the use of cryptocurrencies, offshore transactions, or even reliance on digital-first neobanks, all of which can trigger disproportionate regulatory attention.

As several speakers observed, the debate between freedom and control is more relevant than ever.

Europe: The elephant in the room

But the conversation that ultimately permeated the corridors and panels was even broader: the European project itself.

Politicians, analysts, and business leaders largely agreed: Europe, particularly its southern flank (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal), is failing to generate sufficient wealth or to create the conditions needed to compete in a rapidly accelerating world.

The monetary union, once hailed as a driver of prosperity, has today become a straitjacket that prevents southern countries from deploying their own monetary policies to stimulate growth. Meanwhile, hyper-regulation, rising taxes, and bureaucratic fragmentation continue to limit innovation and economic expansion.

Perhaps most troubling, as speakers such as Daniel Lacalle and Pedro Buerbaum emphasized, is the near-total absence of a culture of entrepreneurship, risk-taking, and wealth creation in Southern Europe.

A business culture stifled by fear of failure, a hostile fiscal environment, and decades of political rhetoric that has demonized entrepreneurship and the figure of the entrepreneur. “How can prosperity be built when those who create jobs are penalized more than those who destroy them?” asked one speaker during a roundtable, a remark that drew spontaneous applause.

Argentina: The uncomfortable contrast

In this context, Javier Milei’s closing speech delivered a bracing dose of reality. The Argentine president did not merely repeat his familiar criticisms of socialism; he came armed with data:

• A 35% real reduction in public spending
• Elimination of obsolete regulations and tax simplification
• Achieving a financial surplus at record speed – for the first time in decades
• Growing international investor confidence
• And a cultural shift that, in his own words, “has restored Argentinians’ hope and the dignity of prospering without the yoke of the state.”

His message resonated with an audience increasingly frustrated by Europe’s endless sterile debates, declining competitiveness, and suffocation of its productive fabric.

The question hung in the air: Will Spain, and Europe, be able to regain their dynamism, or will they continue drifting toward a model of control and stagnation, while other regions of the world embrace economic freedom as the engine of prosperity?

The Madrid Economic Forum 2025 made one thing clear: this debate is no longer ideological; it is existential. And it is beginning to resonate even in the most pragmatic circles of political and economic power.

Speakers also left a clear message for citizens: in an increasingly uncertain and controlled environment, it is more important than ever to cultivate critical thinking, seek rigorous information, dare to start businesses, and take control of one’s own economic future.

It is not enough to wait for reforms from above; a nation’s prosperity is also built through private initiative, the ability to generate and accumulate wealth, and the conscious exercise of individual freedom. Because without free and active citizens, no structural change will ever be possible.

And perhaps that is where Spain’s greatest hope lies. A new generation, armed with technology, global networks, and a sharper understanding of how freedom and prosperity are intertwined, is no longer willing to accept the old model of control and stagnation.

They are building, innovating, and pushing back against narratives that equate security with surveillance or progress with bureaucracy. The Madrid Economic Forum 2025 reflected this shift: not only in what was said on stage, but in the energy of the younger voices in the room.

The message was unmistakable: Spain is ready for change. And this time, the momentum is coming from the bottom up.

The post CBDCs, control and the economic debate shaping Spain’s future – surveillance and stagnation, or freedom? appeared first on CryptoSlate.