Are We Building a Cashless Society in the Future

There are a growing number of supporters of blockchain technology all over the world. Its popularity triggered the interest of those who want to gain some quick profits to those institutional investors looking to invest a large amount of money on cryptos.

In fact, it has many uses not only in personal transactions but even in banks. And just how popular is blockchain technology today? In 2017, Bitcoin was able to reach almost $20,000. In addition to this, regulators were forced to take a closer look at laws on how to approach the market considering the increasing number of people and companies that have been using blockchain technology.

Blockchain Tech and Its Future

For Frank Bagnale, who is the real-life character behind the popular movie by Leonardo DiCaprio “Catch Me If You Can”, he stated that blockchain technology is the future of secure information processing and data settlement.

He said that “I think you would have to be pretty ignorant not to realize that blockchain is the way for the future, it is the best way to secure information 100 percent, so I think you will see banks, especially accounting practices and accounting firms, all move to the blockchain, keeping records through blockchain. It will be the best way to do so because you cannot break the blockchain. You cannot hack into the blockchain. You can’t change anything in the blockchain”.

In fact, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, Mohamed El-Erian mentioned that he sees the world to one day favor digital payments over paper money. And this includes the use of cryptocurrencies. “Is there a role for cryptocurrency in the future? Yes, but critically, officially sanctioned, that’s very different”.

Is he saying that there will be regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies in the near future? According to experts such as Tom Lee, institutional investors are only waiting for regulatory clarity before they begin investing their money into the crypto market.

El-Erian mentioned that “officially sanctioned” digital currency could take many years. He added that it isn’t something that we can see in the next three to five years. And the reason for this is that “people’s habits and people trusting in the new medium and change doesn’t happen overnight”.

However, he said that “we are moving away from cash”. He quickly pointed out how Sweden is doing now. He mentioned that “Go to Sweden and you’ll see how fast one can move away from cash”.

Sweden’s Attempt to Ditch Money

Sweden is now going with its plan to ditch paper money. In fact, 2{4ede17fdd9b4ce8121d01fc4b54913fe84f8215aace504cc657695cefb5329ff} of total value transactions are in cash. And it is even expected to decline to 0.5{4ede17fdd9b4ce8121d01fc4b54913fe84f8215aace504cc657695cefb5329ff} by 2020. This is according to research by Capgemini and BNP Paribas. and because of this, it is already known as the world’s most cashless society.

Will other countries follow and even consider using blockchain technology in the coming years? And could cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin have a place in a cashless society? This is a completely different case from Venezuela supporting blockchain technology merely to circumvent the sanctions. Sweden is now currently headed towards a paperless cash society.