ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (November 7, 2024) – In 2016, the World Economic Forum released its infamous video asserting that by 2030, “you will own nothing and be happy.” The statement is getting closer to becoming reality in more ways than one.
As discussed in The Heartland Institute’s recent Policy Brief, “The 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code Abrogate Property Rights to Tangible Assets,” new changes to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) prepare the United States for a fully dematerialized economy in which the world’s largest financial institutions would own all physical assets and securities.
This paper first provides background on the UCC and explains how it has already been used to abrogate individual investors’ property rights to securities through amendments to UCC Article 8, which were enacted by all 50 states from 1994 to 2001. Amended UCC Article 8 essentially transferred legal ownership rights of the securities that individuals believe they own into the hands of too-big-to-fail banks.
The paper then moves into how recently proposed amendments to the UCC—specifically, amendments to Article 9 and the creation of an entirely new Article 12—pave the way for the tokenization of all assets. This complete dematerialization would lead to a similar loss of property rights based on the same mechanism by which UCC Article 8 operates. The 2022 amendments mimic Article 8 by ensuring that individuals will no longer have direct ownership of their assets once they are housed upon a blockchain network.
UCC Articles 9 and 12 were written for an impending financial ecosystem in which all transactions are recorded and exchanged on a blockchain. And, the same actors who have become the true owners of Americans’ securities will gain legal ownership of all tokenized assets. While such a system has little impact upon individuals when the economy is operating smoothly, Americans could lose everything they believe they own to the world’s largest banks in the event of a financial collapse and ensuing institutional insolvency.
The following statements from experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Tokenization will happen whether individuals want it or not. The transition to a tokenized economy will likely occur at the financial institutional level and then get pushed down to customers and investors. If financial institutions fully transition to a blockchain network, customers will have no alternative financial exchange method to buy or sell goods in the market while also maintaining their property rights.
“The Uniform Commercial Code’s Articles 8, 9, and 12 must be amended to re-establish personal property rights for all asset classes.”
Policy Adviser
The Heartland Institute
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
Daylea DuVall Camp is a fellow with the American Journey Experience: Freedom Rising Fellowship Program and a policy advisor for The Heartland Institute. Daylea is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Government at Regent University, where she studies comparative and American politics with a research emphasis on evangelical attitudes towards capitalism. She has nine years of […]
Jack McPherrin is a Research Fellow within The Heartland Institute’s Emerging Issues Center, and also serves as Heartland’s Research Editor.
