The Wykehamist January 2020 Edition 1487 | Page 12

THE FUTURE OF MONEY
EUGENE URASHIMA (A)
Think future: maybe you’re worried about the effects of global warming
or the declining number of bees. Perhaps you’re even picturing something out
of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. But how will our financial system fair
when titanic robots are trying to take over the world? The answer is simple –
cryptocurrencies.
To say that the number of cryptocurrency users is increasing would be an
understatement. It has skyrocketed in recent years. Underpinned by the block-
chain, a cloud-based ledger that allows any user on its network to make and
verify transactions, the number of cryptocurrency wallet users worldwide has
grown at an average quarterly rate of 16.7% since Q1 2015. If the current trend
continues, just 8 years from now there will be 8 billion wallet users.
There is clear evidence that cryptocurrencies have outgrown their early,
somewhat dubious reputation and are becoming increasingly accepted and
trusted in the mainstream economy. Approximately 14267 venues now accept
Bitcoin as a form of payment and Japan alone has 260,000 crypto-ready stores.
As cryptocurrencies are on the rise, traditional forms of
money are already beginning to make way. Having witnessed cash
payments fall to just 1-2% of all financial transactions, the central bank of
Sweden is investigating the possibility of launching its own cryptocurrency,
the ‘E-KRONA’. As the world becomes increasingly shaped by technology, we
may be following in the footsteps of Sweden.
“Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can
be. Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t
have to be physically in the same place and, of course,
for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconve-
nient” -BILL GATES
The benefits are abundant. Currency exchange ‘middlemen’ are purged,
increasing the speed and efficiency of international transactions, highly encryp-
Number of Blockchain wallet users per
quarter
ted and decentralized peer-to-peer banking is safe from prying eyes, interfe-
ring authorities, and hackers alike and as an infinitely divisible form of money
new economic efficiencies can be achieved. It can also facilitate remittance
payments for workers who want to send money back home, as transaction fees
are eradicated. This means that developing countries could see an improve-
ment in growth as households now have more disposable income to spend on
goods.
Boys camping on the Ladakh trip, 2019
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The wykehamist
The Future of Money
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