Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system, a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone, anywhere, to send and receive payments. It is a digital payment system, independent of banking, which are recorded on a distributed electronic public ledger called blockchain and are stored in digital wallets. Cryptocurrency received its name because it uses encryption to verify transactions. This means advanced coding is involved in storing and transmitting cryptocurrency data between wallets and to public ledgers. The aim of encryption is to provide security and safety. The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which was founded in 2009 and is still famous for various reasons, including the technology and its value journey. Bitcoin reportedly has a maximum of 21 million coins that can ever be created. In the face of this fixed supply, an ever-increasing demand has sent the value of the Cryptocurrency soaring. Currently, it is hovering around $95,000 and there is definitely an asset price bubble here, which got support from the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission of the US allowed Bitcoin trading.
However, Global Finance today is shifting from Bitcoin to Stablecoin. Stablecoins are a form of digital currency, designed to maintain a stable value by pegging their price to a reserve asset, most commonly the U.S. Dollar. Stablecoins, as per the name, give the speed, transparency, and programmability of blockchain technology without the volatility. Today, Stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and Tether or USDT are critical tools for global payments, trading, savings, and cross-border transactions, giving digital speed and safety to traditional finance transactions. Stablecoins are growing very fast as they give instant and low-cost transfers. But the fact is that they are digitisation of the US Dollar and help the Dollar to maintain its hegemony as the Reserve Currency of the World. In 2024 alone, Stablecoins processed over $27 trillion in volume, more than Visa and Mastercard combined.
While the surface of finance looks much the same, the base infrastructure is changing. SWIFT’s ISO 20022 upgrade is modernising cross-border messaging to support blockchain-based tokens storing value . China’s CIPS network is providing an alternative to SWIFT for emerging markets. Blockchain-based settlement layers like Ethereum are allowing assets to move at internet speed, without any blockades. A classic collaboration is happening between Digital Finance and Traditional Finance . The two systems are beginning to meet in the middle, with Stablecoins acting as the connective tissue. This hybrid model is focused on resilience, innovation, and access and creating a new Finance world which can benefit you, me and all.
Do you agree?