Evolving Money

Throughout history, financial markets have struggled with the issue of borders. Borders create friction, add cost and cause headaches for anyone who wants to spend money across them. On top of that, various national currencies can be wildly unstable. Could a borderless, global currency ease friction and enhance financial inclusion and stability around the world? Cryptocurrencies offer an intriguing possible solution to money’s border problem. And a particular kind of cryptocurrency, called stablecoins, could become a powerful medium of exchange for international payments - and offer people around the world increased economic freedom.

The costs of the paper check system – both in time and money – have been with us for centuries. But there’s a new technology called blockchain that looks as though it could provide a solution, with an online ledger that’s universally accessible and completely transparent. Blockchain also can't be hacked or altered and costs next to nothing. That may sound too good to be true, but a look back at how the paper check system was improved by the rise of digital money demonstrates that what sounds like a revolution today is often commonplace tomorrow. And blockchain may be the key to unlocking the future of money.

Why did Bitcoin move from a currency to an investable asset in just 15 years of existence? It was because of mainstream adoption by retail investors who believed there was money to be made. But behind that mania for all things crypto was a much more serious undertaking – the birth of a new asset class. Investors came to understand that there was a market for crypto, and that it behaved differently from other assets in their portfolios. It’s not the first time the monetary system has absorbed a new asset class. In fact, the rise of crypto has striking parallels to the creation of stocks in the 1600s. 

The history of money is riddled with crises, followed by innovation that transforms the monetary system. In 17th century England, a coinage crisis triggered a loss in trust in the money’s value. To restore that trust, Goldsmiths stepped in as intermediaries—and became England’s unlikely first bankers. Today, transferring money requires a plethora of intermediaries to verify transactions in a system that’s full of friction. Enter the next innovation: Bitcoin. Can it remove friction from the system and build trust?

Is cryptocurrency the next logical evolution of the monetary system? In Evolving Money, to explore whether we’re at an inflection point, we’ll look back at moments in the history of money when how we paid for things and stored value long-term changed for the better.