We Already Have a Digital Currency

29 May 2024 | ~2 minute read

Bitcoin and their ilk really aren't my thing, but many talk about the need for a digital currency. But here's the thing - we already have one, don't we?

I'm not the right person to talk about crypto currencies. Personally, I think they're nothing more than a glorified ponzi scheme that collectively use more power globally than most countries.

TL;DR they're a joke.

But lots of people think they're useful, especially when it comes to talking less about the scummy side of crypto currencies, and more about the potential for a legit digital currency.

The world is becoming more and more digitised. We use our phones to pay things, we use our watches to pay things (well, I don't, but many do), and banks transfer trillions of £, $, €, ¥ etc. digitally every single day.

When traders make millions of dollars worth of trades before lunch, do you think there are trucks scooting around physically moving all those dollar bills? Of course there aren't - a billion dollars weighs around 3 tonnes, but it can be moved from one bank to another with a single keystroke.

And there's the rub. Yes, there's still physical currency that exists in our wallets and in vaults somewhere, but the vast majority of currency is moved around digitally.

Doesn't that mean that we already have digital currencies? They're already here, folks. So pack away the millions of graphics cards whirling away in warehouses all over the world.

Mission accomplished.

Let's make the world a little a lot greener and turn off all those miners, shall we?

• Opinion
• Technology