The Future of Money: A History

3rd February 2022

There are two aspects to the evolution of money: technical and economic. First, we see the gradual facilitation of non-cash electronic transactions. More and more people are using them on their mobile devices. This creates the prerequisites for the exclusion of banks from the settlement system. At the same time, two more technical ideas undermined the foundations of their existence.

The first one is cryptocurrencies. The second is a digital currency, which appeared on the wave of great interest in blockchain, but which does not necessarily have to be based on it. It is being launched by the central bank, which means there will still be a single controlling center. So a digital currency is not necessarily a blockchain-based cryptocurrency.

Digital money brings with it more than just pluses. There is also the risk of losing savings due to fraudsters taking over a person’s digital profile. In addition to hackers attacking users’ electronic devices, there is the threat of a data storage center being hacked. Therefore, if you want to buy cryptocurrency, use https://trastra.com/coins/buy-bch-with-iban/. a dependable exchange and storage service

What is digital currency?

It is cryptographically encoded information that has the status of cash. That is, it is money issued by the central bank in the form of coded information. It will be stored in electronic wallets that will be installed on electronic devices. 

Why is digital currency being put into circulation?

Central banks around the world see competition from cryptocurrency. Right now, it’s not very strong. But it could start displacing national currencies.

And who will lend instead of commercial banks?

We already know the answer to this question now. For example, two financial institutions of a new type have already appeared: peer-to-peer networks (p2p platforms) and microfinance organizations.

What awaits us if we try to look into the distant future of money?

Money in world history evolved through the emergence of payment obligations. Gold coinage was a unification of gold that could be melted into bullion. But coins circulated so well that it became less common to melt them down. Eventually, even gold coins that had lost weight and worn out were considered complete. Then came banknotes, the obligations of banks to pay out a certain amount of gold on demand. In the middle of the twentieth century, banks realized that if they stopped issuing gold in exchange for banknotes, they would still be in use. 

Non-cash (checks, bank accounts, and plastic cards) followed a similar path. Initially, they were required to pay in cash or coins. But today, the most important trend in the world is to reduce the share of cash.

Why else would a new international currency be needed?

Only to reduce the cost and hassle of converting one currency into another. In this sense, any private currency, be it bitcoin, Libra, or the dollar, does not solve the problem of conversion costs. Life for ordinary users is made easier by services such as https://trastra.com/mobile-app/

Bitcoin is a bubble. It has no intrinsic value. There is no serious issue behind it. But it has already drawn millions of people into its orbit, ready to work with it. Sooner or later, Bitcoin has become a model for a new type of technological currency, and sooner or later there will be more legal cryptocurrencies under the umbrella of states. Bitcoin is likely to deflate in the shadow of interstate association cryptocurrencies and national state cryptocurrencies.

Serious changes in the world’s financial system did not cause wars or revolutions. On the contrary, wars and revolutions themselves caused global changes in finance. So there is no need to see money as the cause of trouble.