Cryptocurrencies are still a relatively new concept to the world, but the large financial institutions have taken their application seriously for some time. The core philosophy behind the creation of Bitcoin, was to take the supply and value of currency out of the hands of the few and place economic control back into the hands of the people. However, as more and more of these industry giants begin to explore the introduction of their own tokens, the threat of centralised conglomerates ruling the world is closer than ever.
One of largest rivals of community driven cryptocurrencies would be the introduction of e-fiat currencies by national governments. The country that is probably closest to fully digitalising their monetary system at the time of publishing, is Sweden.
The country has shown a huge decline in cash usage over the last few years and Riksbank, which is Sweden’s central bank, is already exploring ways to introduce the e-krona. This fully digital fiat currency will be designed to work exactly the same as the tangible krona does, and usable for everyday payments, however large or small.
Sweden is not alone in the pursuit of giving its nations cash a technological upgrade. The Bank of Israel, The Bank of Canada and of course, The Bank of England have all invested vast amounts of money in order to set up entire teams that can analyse the implications of introducing e-fiat over the next couple of years. These groups will ultimately evaluate the utility and demand for a fully-digital economy, as well as how to introduce a smooth transition away from cash.
But what will this mean for our economic empowerment? The central banks have long controlled our financial systems, and thereby, determined what our wealth is worth. To put it another way; You get paid for your skills, your energy and ultimately for your precious time. When a centralised bank chooses to pump their own country with freshly printed money today, the value of the currency reduces. That means that they have determined that your time and effort is worth less than it was yesterday.
For cryptocurrency enthusiasts, these developments of e-fiat are extremely concerning. These systems would utilise the innovation offered by Bitcoin, warping its design just enough to rob it of everything that it stood for.
The decisions of powerful governments continue to drastically influence the price of Bitcoin and altcoins such as Ethereum, Dash and Cardano. Just recently, after South Korea announced the mere possibility of shutting down the operations of all cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitcoin’s value plummeted by a massive 25%.
Unfortunately, economic and world news such as this only serves to increase volatility to an already volatile marketplace, and strengthens the argument made by the large banks. Institutions with an agenda to retain control of the worlds wealth, and so, be positioned to dictate financial, political and social policies.