#91-The Future of Money, Bitcoin, CBDC’s, NFT’s and De-Fi- Why the scarce Cryptocurrencies Money 4.0, and also a big Reset button? By Sidhartha Sharma
Money has served a very important role in human life since its invention a few thousand years ago.
Like most other experiments, Money has been through various stages of evolution:
- Money 0- Pre-barter and Barter days
- Money 1.0- Invention of Gold and coins as means of exchange
- Money 2.0-Money 1.0+ Invention of Credit+Banking Systems
- Money 3.0- Removal of Gold standard (Governments Can Print Money)+Money 2.0+ Plastic/internet money managed via high-speed centralized platforms (human and institutional trust was needed)
- Money 4.0- The big Reset- De-Fi (Decentralized Finance)+ Cryptocurrency +Trust has been digitized+Money becomes a protocol
And money, as we know it, will never be the same.
Before the invention of Bitcoin (or distributed ledger technology), money enjoyed the advantages of T.I.NA (There is no alternative)
2009, Enter Satoshi Nakamoto and Bitcoin
2010 1 BITCOIN = 0.01 USD
Feb 2011 , 1 BITCOIN = 1 USD
OCT 2021, 1 BITCOIN = 65,000 USD
What happened in 10 years?
I recently gave a masterclass on the topic- ‘Future of Digital Currencies’ at The Asia Security Summit, Oct 2021
Sharing 12 Key Future Trends (my personal views, do your own research)
- The 2020s is for Crypto startups, what the 1990s was for internet start-ups.
- There will be a big correcting crash as well, and inefficient/me too blockchain startups and cryptocurrencies will wipe out or get consolidated under the stable ones
- Fintech, Banks, and Payments players will have to prepare for De-Fi (decentralized world)- Intermediary commissions will be a thing of the past or greatly diminished.
- Open Payments Network and P2P transactions are inevitable.
- Decentralized platforms will emerge across all areas currently being dominated by the BIG-TECH.
- Asset & Transaction tokenization will be very normal, backed by Smart contracts (DLT)
- Most of the irresponsible countries (that believe in printing money) will face strong inflation (if not hyperinflation) over the next 5–10 years. Thus middle class and affluent savers must think of options other than cash. This is very critical of emerging markets like India and even developed economies like the US. few stable ones like- Singapore dollars, Swiss Frank China RMB will stay stable but their global purchasing powers may suffer. Hyperinflation will be witnessed in most major economies in real assets, food, and living basket categories. Masses will continue to think deflation is happening due to Moore's law (Data, tech devices, Gaming, and OTT platforms may get cheaper)
- Governments will try their best to prevent the decoupling of money, but even with full regulatory power and CBDC (central bank digital currencies), they can only control mass adoption. Class adoption (millionaires, billionaires, Ultra HNI’s) and Institutional adoption (big banks and payment companies)
- Clean energy initiatives will get a boost due to the increased demand for decentralized infrastructure.
- Digital Art / NFT (Non-fungible tokens) will emerge as the next big asset class
- Blockchain will transform almost every industry where a centralized platform or SAAS is charging an intermediary commission or a service fee
- Consumers will enjoy decentralized data economy benefits
Bitcoin will stay the crown jewel of cryptocurrencies, followed by Etherium and 5–6 other cryptocurrencies. The only way bitcoin will lose its charm is if supply becomes infinite compared to the current 21 MILLION coins.
The biggest error the central banks and governments can make is to deny the supremacy of the decentralized systems and money protocols by continuing with business and broken monetary policies.
Cash, Banking, Centralized Platforms and Monetary policy as we know will need to undergo ‘massive transformation’, else they will fail against the power of De-Fi.
By Sidhartha Sharma (views are personal)
Digital Strategy and Ecosystem Expert
#saidbysid #digitalplaybookwithsidharthasharma #blockchain
