Crypto and the Freedom to Transact

Several financial developments are converging, and together they create the possibility of significant changes in our money and the ways we transact, around which there should be awareness and open discussion.

Take Advantage of the Biggest Financial Event in London. This year we have expanded to new verticals in Online Trading, Fintech, Digital Assets, Blockchain, and Payments.

Firstly, there is the general move towards cashless payments. It has become normal to pay without cash, and there are places where almost all businesses now possess the hardware to rapidly process cashless payments.

In fact, the pendulum (if it is a pendulum, a word which implies a move back later) has swung so far towards cashless that there are now operators in some locations that will only accept cashless payments.

This varies by geography, but there are places where it is apparent and has happened rapidly, and seemingly without discussion.

Secondly, there is talk of CBDCs, as governments around the world explore the prospect of switching the money supply to central bank-issued blockchain-based digital currencies. These diverge from decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin by being absolutely centralized and under the control of the issuer.

Thirdly, there were recent developments around Tornado Cash. This was not a widely reported story outside the crypto world, and may not have entered mainstream awareness.