Alternative currencies are the future — and they matter for development
Crypto-currencies comprise a transparent, peer-to-peer, open-access registry of monetary flows, making banking authorities unnecessary, writes Lorenzo Fioramonti
When I began to teach in 2012, I decided to start my course with an analysis of how money affects social order. What my students found particularly fascinating was the then-nascent world of crypto-currencies, which I described at length as a crucial feature in the future of money. Some colleagues criticised my approach. They accused me of indirectly encouraging students to invest in what they saw as a shady, crime-ridden financial underworld. But I was simply exposing young minds to a fast-evolving, complex phenomenon that, in my view, would have a major impact on power distribution in the global economy. Behind most crypto-currencies is a simple technology known as "blockchain", a system residing in multiple computers that allows for peer-to-peer financial ledger recording of all transactions occurring in a network. This results in a transparent, open-access registry of monetary flows which makes the intermediation of banking authorities unnecessary. Thus it challenges the conventi...
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