The future of money Cryptocurrencies

 The future of money Cryptocurrencies

It's somebody's freedom. It's somebody's liberty. It's somebody's silent protest. It has been hijacked in

large part by opportunists, con artists right? Scammers. Bitcoin can be

money the way gold is. But that doesnít mean

Bitcoin is a currency. Society is worse off in every

regard if we have a new speculative Bitcoin bubble than it would

be if the whole craze passed. On the North Pacific

in Central America lies the small town of El

Zonte, El Salvador. The waves draw surfers

from around the world. But these picture-perfect

moments only capture one reality. Home to 3,000 residents, El Zonte is one of the

poorest places in the country. But its street food is famous. The national dish

is called ìpupusa.î Theyíre sold on nearly

every street corner for just a couple US dollars. Maria Aguirre accepts

virtual money as payment. Via a smartphone app,

customers can pay with Bitcoin, the worldís oldest

cryptocurrency. I was a little worried to

accept payment in Bitcoin because itís a virtual currency

thatís not widely known. But itís been two years,

and Iím still taking Bitcoin. At first, the decision

paid off for Maria Aguirre. The value of Bitcoin

shot up to 60,000 dollars. But then, within

just a few months, it lost more than

two-thirds of its worth. Now Maria and some

50 fellow retailers can only hope

the trend reverses. Bitcoin can theoretically be exchanged

for dollars or euros at any time. In fact, holding onto

this virtual currency rather than exchanging it can

be a significant gamble. Because the crypto

market is highly volatile. Short-term fluctuations

happen frequently where its value will dip or

surge more than 10 percent. Itís a risk some retailers in

El Zonte are willing to take. They pay and do

business in Bitcoin, but they donít exchange

their crypto assets into dollars hoping that its value will rise. Maria Aguirre is one of them. But at the end of 2022,

things werenít looking so good. Iíve had losses, but I

hope to recover them soon. Since then, the value

of Bitcoin did rise again. Welcome news for not only Maria. A social Bitcoin project in El Zonte

is financed through crypto donations. The project is geared towards

preventing young people from turning to crime. Gangs and murder are a feared

part of everyday life in El Zonte. ìHope Houseî gives young people

in the community the resources to get a better start in life. The charitable initiative

offers educational courses, recreational activities,

and job opportunities. In 2017 and 2018, many people

had to suspend their support for this project due

to various difficulties. But at the same time, there were

newcomers who wanted to help. And they used Bitcoin. The identity of the donor who

offered funding to Jorge Valenzuela remains a big mystery. All thatís known is that the

person was based in the US. Even the initiator

of the nonprofit, ìBitcoin Beach,î in El

Salvador says he doesnít know who was behind the donation. I mean it was a six-figure

sum over a number of years that was injected into the

community in dollar terms. And so it was definitely

something that was substantial. [What] the donor was looking

for was not just to give Bitcoin to a project where they

would convert it to dollars which is what most

nonprofits would want to do, that's the

easiest thing to do. But they

were looking for projects that were willing to

use Bitcoin in a transactional way, and they believed that Bitcoin

being used would actually be more important than

the monetary value of it. Itís been more than three years

since the project got underway. Those involved say

thereís been less crime. Plus, many residents are

now living with sturdier roofs over their heads. Renato Salazar helped fund

the new construction with Bitcoin, on behalf of multiple donors. But now the families need to

pay off their loans in Bitcoin too. As you can see, itís concrete. 122 safe and stable homes in

place of flimsier tin-roofed houses for 122 families. Not an insignificant number

considering El Zonte only has a population of 3,000. The community members

donít only mix concrete, they also learn how to pay in

Bitcoin via their smartphones. They don't have bank accounts. They don't have access to

any financial system here, any financial program. They don't have access to loans. They don't have

access to insurance. They don't have

access to anything, right? So it would have been impossible

for them to get a home like this. El Zonte is considered a test

case for the future of money. No matter oneís

capital, everyone here rich or poor can conduct business

within a decentralized system. No dollars, no

banks, no banknotes. Is Bitcoin a better and

more ethical type of money? Can it replace

standard currencies? Could it help alleviate the pressure

on the worldís poorest populations? There are many influencers

and advocates who back Bitcoin: Are they doing so in the

name of economic justice? They're doing it

because they're trying to make the world

a better place. They truly believe that

Bitcoin is good for people. And honestly, I

understand that argument. There are many legitimate

reasons why Bitcoin can be positive. Frankfurt is Europeís

banking capital. Here, the development

of cryptocurrencies isnít perceived as positively. The European

Central Bank or E-C-B is especially

critical of Bitcoin. At the end of 2022,

the E-C-B published a blog post

lambasting Bitcoin. It was regarded as something

of a declaration of war. The authors classified

Bitcoin not as an innovation, but as a ìspeculative bubble,î and wrote that Bitcoin

is taking its ìlast standî while investors

stubbornly hang on. One of the authors

is Ulrich Bindseil. If we have a new

speculative Bitcoin bubble, society is worse off than

if the whole craze passed. For the E-C-B, the idea of

creating money without its oversight is simply unthinkable. It alone has the right to print

the cash it deems necessary. It opposes circumventing

banks to transfer money because that weakens

the role of banks. With its independence

and global reach, Bitcoin is a nightmare

for authorities especially considering the

speculation on its increase in value. Bitcoin is not suited

as a means of payment because its value

is highly unstable. And a means of payment should not

double as a speculative investment. Both these factors

come together here. And people are being

wooed with a positive narrative that the price of Bitcoin

will continue to rise. Every Bitcoin transaction

is stored as a code on whatís called a "blockchain.î Whatís unique is that the

entire blockchain is stored identically on a network

of thousands of computers. This is what makes Bitcoin

a decentralized currency outside the control of

the E-C-B or other banks. Bitcoin was created in 2008

and outlined in this paper, authored by Satoshi Nakamoto. The authorís real

identity is unknown. Itís not even clear if

thereís just one person behind Bitcoin

or several people. The first bitcoin cost

just 0.06 euro cents. In 2021, Bitcoinís worth shot

up to over 58 thousand euros. A 5 cent investment early

on would have equalled about 5 million

euros 11 years later at least, briefly. The total amount of Bitcoins will

be capped at around 21 million. Itís stipulated in

the source code that there wonít be any

more beyond that. Which is why many people believe

scarcity will drive the price up. While leaders at the European

Central Bank regard Bitcoin as highly speculative researchers at the nearby Frankfurt

School of Finance and Management take a very different stance. Just because Mr. Bindseil works

for the European Central Bank doesnít automatically

mean heís right. Only time will tell. I honestly find it rather

puzzling that the E-C-B has opted to run a PR campaign

against Bitcoin. In my view, Bitcoin is not

necessarily an enemy of the euro. The researchers donít regard Bitcoin

as a traditional means of payment: They see it as more

of an investment. Similar to investing in gold, hoping that its value

will increase over time. The researchers donít

believe Bitcoin will function as money on a global scale. Thereís a relatively

high volatility with Bitcoin. One day the price is through the

roof; the next it takes a nosedive. Itís impossible to

establish prices that way. Plus, itís not accepted

widely enough. When you dine out or fuel your

car, you can pay in euros anywhere. Paying with Bitcoin

is rarely an option. But a recent development

could work in cryptoís favor. One of the main objectives

of the European Central Bank is to prevent high inflation. And lately, it hasnít

been succeeding. Everything is becoming

more expensive. The value of money is falling. If this stretches

on year after year, weíll see that certain

groups in society will face considerable challenges, as

costs go up and while wages, for example, donít. And I think the importance of Bitcoin

will grow during this same period. Very few businesses

in Europe accept Bitcoin. Critics say cryptocurrency

enables cybercrime. Buying goods and services

in the mainstream economy is very difficult using

a cryptocurrency. And so, the main use

case for purchasing goods and services using cryptocurrency

is illegal activity for the most part. So whether it is

something like ransomware or you know buying

drugs or, you know, maybe you want to hire a hitman, then yeah, Bitcoin is

fantastic for that purpose. Thatís one reason why most

lawmakers donít want to see free trade happening

in cryptocurrencies at all. Large regulated crypto

exchanges are meant to oversee Bitcoin transactions, thereby deterring criminals. Customersí identities must be

verified before they can buy Bitcoin, and profits can be taxed. Customers receive an

account known as a ìwallet.î If they exchange euros

for Bitcoin, for example, those assets end

up in their wallet. This is the point where

the state has access. Where am I depositing

euros into the crypto exchange and which wallet are

the euros coming out of? And if the state has the feeling

thereís a fraudster in the mix, it can approach the

crypto exchange and say: Dear crypto exchange, does

Mr. X or Ms. Y own Bitcoin? If so, please share

their wallet details. We need to see what's going on. Los Angeles. In California, defying

norms is the norm. Many here love cryptocurrency

because it aligns with their politics. Freedom and independence from

the state are core Bitcoin values. It plays on contrasts outsiders versus the

establishment, rich versus poor, new versus old. Hey babes, multiple big stocks on a global scale,

not just in the US. Apparently, thereís MATIC drama Two crazy things

happened in crypto last night. Hereís what you need to know. One of them could involve Just in, FOMC [Federal Open

Market Committee] update! Boxing and Bitcoin

have a lot in common at least, according to one of

the worldís most successful crypto-influencers. Theyíre both charged

with symbolism: To go your own way,

youíll have to fight for it. It's about the underdogs and

having control of your actions and using critical thinking. Change is coming. But this romantic idea of a

crypto utopia is unraveling. In 2022, several crypto apps

and exchanges plunged users into financial ruin. The biggest scandal of all

was the bankruptcy of F-T-X, the crypto exchange founded

by Sam Bankman-Fried. He was accused of stealing

billions from customers. In November 2023, a New

York court convicted him. He was found guilty on seven

counts of fraud and conspiracy. I'm not discounting Sam. He did absolutely

terrible things very, very bad things. He lied, he stole, he

practiced unethical behaviors. But at the same time, we have bad actors

in every single industry and we're going to continue

to have bad actors in crypto. It's unfortunately human nature. But to sit and to single him

out and not pay attention to what some of the other bankers

and what the other public servants are doing, would be a

disservice to the American people and people in

general in the world. Before being convicted,

Bankman-Fried lived here with

his parents, on a bail bond of

250-million US dollars. His situation, not unlike those

faced in major bank failures. That collapse is like so many

other financial institution collapses that we've seen

over the years, right? You have effectively an entity

that is heavily reliant on leverage, which is placing big bets and

then covering over those bets with more bets. And any time you have an

institution which is debt financed, they're going to run

into some trouble. In the US, unregulated crypto

exchanges long dominated the market. No authority felt responsible

for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or the number

two cryptocurrency, Ethereum. You have around 8 million

holders of Bitcoin and Ethereum in Germany and there are ìonlyî Iím saying that in quotes 20,000 FTX victims. This shows that regulation

has had a positive effect here. I would argue regulation is

necessary and long overdue in America to prevent

further damage. Many feel the temptation to

make big money with Bitcoin. Ultimately, Iíd say it comes

down to speculative investments and Bitcoin holdersí vision that

the value of Bitcoin will keep rising. That suggests that we

have an asset class here that you can invest in and

somehow secure a fantastic future. And of course you need to

maintain a narrative about what it's useful for. So they say it could be

useful for payment transactions. He's entitled to his opinion. However, I've done

pretty well with Bitcoin, with trading it, with holding

it, with using it to transact. And I haven't had anybody

really tell me what to do with that. So, I mean, that's his opinion

and I'm sorry he feels that way. But if you look at the United

States of America banking system and all the bonds and the traditional

financial investments we have, they're not really

doing too great either. There are more than 8,000

cryptocurrencies out there. Theyíre offered on a

myriad of crypto exchanges not to mention the countless obscure

providers advertised on social media. The industry is a shark tank. It has been hijacked in

large part by opportunists, con artists right? Scammers. I know many, many people have

lost enormous amounts of money in these markets. It's a classic kind of bubble. Now, that's not to say

that there isn't, right, really amazing technology

that sits underneath it. Recently, thereís

been a shift in the US. Users on crypto exchanges

are now obliged to provide nearly as much personal

information as they would need to when opening a

traditional bank account. A far cry from the

independence crypto promised. Effectively we've

recreated kind of like a traditional banking system

on top of these cryptocurrencies. And I think most people

who use them don't realize that they're back using an

institution which is very similar to the ones that they

think they have fled. WendyO wants to conduct

business independently of banks. That's why she stays clear

of regulated crypto exchanges. She opts for the more technically

advanced route of trading directly from person to person known as ìpeer to peer.î When you're using a third-party

exchange like a Binance or a Coinbase or

Gemini, understand: That is a third party. They are holding

your cryptocurrency. If that exchange goes down,

you can lose your money. For most people, learning the jargon and inner

workings of the complicated technology is too time consuming. Crypto exchanges

are a far simpler option. But WendyO only

trusts herself and Bitcoin in its

original conception. Her Bitcoin is stored

in her own wallet. There's no third party

that's monitoring you, that's tracking you, that's taking your information and

then selling it to somebody else. Bitcoin doesn't do that. These third parties, they do. WendyO is part of a

close-knit community of Bitcoin users that distrusts banks. For them, the notion that this

new monetary system should be regulated the same way as

the traditional banking system is out of the question. Our public servants, that's

what I like to call them. They're just a bunch

of people with these very expensive pieces of paper degrees or they come from

really great families, or they've got connections. They're just regular

human beings. They don't necessarily

know more than us. If you want to buy a

home, if you want to rent, if you want to get an education,

if you want to buy a car, food, whatever that may be,

you have to have a bank account. But will the banks

stand idly by as people like WendyO try to chip away their

power and destroy their business? La DÈfense, a business

district just outside Paris, is home to the

headquarters of one of the oldest banks

in the country. SociÈtÈ GÈnÈraleís influence

in the crypto business is already far greater than

many Bitcoin users can imagine. Recently, SociÈtÈ GÈnÈrale

integrated a subsidiary called FORGE. CEO Jean-Marc Stenger is

spearheading a small team leading one of the banking world's

most ambitious projects in the realm of crypto. We believe that

weíre entering a new era of financial

markets and money. Weíre on the verge of a very

radical and profound change when it comes to blockchain especially in regard to

how financial services are supplied to the customer. When it comes to these services, a fundamental revolution

is on the horizon. SociÈtÈ GÈnÈrale has long

been working to secure its position on the forefront

of this revolution. Itís allowed to trade

in cryptocurrencies, offer wallets, and it supports authorities

by regulating crypto traders. The French bank

wants to make big money by leveraging blockchain

technology for equity trades. Financial institutions or

companies will only issue shares or bonds digitally. Theyíll only exist in digital

form on the blockchain. And that's what

interests our customers the ability to be faster,

safer, and cheaper. In the future, selling shares wouldnít

be limited to the stock exchange. Instead, they would be programmed

on a blockchain and traded from there. In the business world, these

are known as ìsmart contracts.î And powerful financial players have

embraced this new business model. New York is home to the largest

stock exchange in the world. This is where big

deals are struck. Until now, the field

was clearly divided. Banks, brokers, and hedge fund

traders speculated in pretty much anything that

could turn a profit. Cryptocurrencies are sold

outside of Wall Streetís purview. But, in early 2024, US authorities allowed Bitcoin ETFs

to be traded on the stock exchange for the first time. If you owned all of

the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me

for $25, I wouldn't take it, because what would I do with it? I'll have to sell it back to

you one way or another. It isnít going to do anything. The apartments are going

to produce rent and the farms are going to produce food. Stock market tycoon

Warren Buffett doesnít see any intrinsic value in Bitcoin so

why should he speculate on it? Ultimately, itís a series of numbers

that offers no immediate benefit. Many traditional financial

managers, not only in New York, see this as its

biggest shortcoming. But that attitude is

gradually changing. Jordi Visser is the president

of a hedge fund that manages over 4 billion dollars. He sees himself as a pioneer

and is very interested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. No one, no one can argue

with the fact that the concept of the blockchain is a

great idea as a technology, whether we're able to use it

in the manner that we hope is an argument that

people can debate. But I think it's certainly

going to be here and I think it's

something that we need. So I see it as the

birthplace of an innovation which is going to help

us get more authenticity to a world that has values

on assets that are really hard to prove that they're

worth what they are. Many of Jordi Visser's

colleagues advise against investing in Bitcoin because of the

dramatic fluctuations in its value. But surprisingly, evaluations made by his financial

advisers tell a different story. Bitcoin's volatility

has been declining. Last year [in 2022], when people

talk about the volatility of Bitcoin, I forget the final numbers, but US technology stocks were

down almost as much Amazon was down almost as

much as Bitcoin last year. So what's the difference between

people having a large weight in Amazon that was down

significantly and in Bitcoin? I think we've gotten to

the point where the volatility has been declining for years. It will continue to decline as it

becomes a more accepted asset class. In 2022, Bitcoinís value dropped

60 percent, to around 15,500 euros. In the same time frame,

Amazon was down 47 percent. And the Dow Jones

Industrial Average, an index of 30

major companies in the US, was down 9 percent. In 2023, Bitcoinís value

recovered, and fluctuated between 20 and

30 thousand euros. Leading experts from

the worldís financial hubs at least agree on one thing: The technology behind

Bitcoin is ingenious. And itís well on its way to becoming

an investment that generates a return. Bitcoin is very much like

gold. And what I mean by that is it's a terrible

medium of exchange, but it's a wonderful

store of value. And I do think that we'll

continue to see Bitcoin. Plattsburgh is a small city in New

York, close to the Canadian border. Twenty thousand

residents, harsh winters, and no major tourist attractions unless you count this building a former discount retailer. In 2018, it became one of

the largest Bitcoin mining operations

in the world. Bitcoin is still

mined here today. The somewhat rundown building

houses thousands of computers. All day, their sole purpose

is to figure out codes. Ideally, every 10 minutes. Each block they crack

is worth 6.25 Bitcoin. Validating each block is so

complex that a single computer would take a very long time. So countless companies

set up thousands of computers to

increase their odds. It's an ongoing race: Whoever cracks the code

the fastest gets the reward. In 2018, miners were

generating 1,800 Bitcoins per day. But the problem is: all these computers constantly

mining Bitcoin consume massive amounts of electricity. When the price of Bitcoin

was higher, it was estimated that its electricity consumption

worldwide was equivalent to that of the Netherlands. And in times of climate

change and energy scarcity, that's simply not

good for a thing thatís value to

society is unclear. ìBitcoin is so bad for the

environment, itís so dangerous.î Well, so is printing money. So is driving a car. So is the lighting here. So is you and I

breathing, existing. Yes. Bitcoin does leave itty

bitty carbon footprint, but so do a lot of

these other things. Is the environmental impact

of Bitcoin mining overblown or is it a serious concern? Plattsburgh can

provide some answers. On a global scale, electricity

here is extremely cheap. It comes from a hydroelectric

power plant on the Niagara River. Thatís what attracted

the company Coinmint to set up its huge mining

operation in the first place. The new company promised

jobs and a boost in tax revenue. But gradually, people learned the reality of the

businessís impact was very different. Basically itís all about

computers, itís all I know about it. I donít like it,

its an ugly place. I canít go in there and shop. They use a lot of electricity. It has raised our place in electric

and they didnít say thatís the reason, but itís the talk and

also it has caused the family dollar here,

it used to be over there and went the whole

winter without heat because of the operation

in the back they always had the doors open because the

machines working with the Bitcoin you know, they have to constantly

run to do the cryptocurrency. Around the time

Coinmint set up shop, Colin Read became

mayor of Plattsburgh. He teaches

about banking and sustainability at

the state university. He was appalled to

learn that on some days, this building consumed

one third of all the electricity in his city of 20,000 residents. These machines run

1500 to 3000 watts, very similar to a space heater,

generally the same amount of heat. So to control that heat,

if you have, you know, three to 10,000 machines

like that in this room, you need to draw in a bunch of

cold air and expel a bunch of hot air. So any Bitcoin mine

operation is going to have a lot of

holes in the wall, a lot of holes in the roof. Fans everywhere. In the

summertime they generate a lot of noise because

those fans need really need to run continuously

when the weather is hot. The Bitcoin mining operation

proved to be a massive disruption for the residents

of Plattsburgh. The cheap power supply generated

from the Niagara River was not enough. The price of electricity

suddenly shot up. For local companies like this paper

mill, production became untenable. Colin Read then forced

the Bitcoin mining firm to pay for the extra

electricity on its own. The company responded

with a PR campaign. I've seen many pictures

from some very sophisticated with hundreds of millions

of dollars of Wall Street venture capital money behind

them, you know, the Italian shoes and suits and all

that kind of stuff. They've got a trade

association that helps them do the talking points

when they go into communities. After all, there is enormous

potential in the business. Colin Read calculated that

the Puerto Rico-based company earned up to 50 million dollars a

month at the start of its operation. Plattsburgh, a lower-income

city, didnít see a dime. If they're making tens of millions

of dollars of profit every month, surely there's going to be lots

of flow back into the community. But these are profits

in Bitcoin that can be essentially cashed in anywhere. There's no reason to

believe for any reason that this money will

stay in the community. In the end, Plattsburgh did not

rake in the promised tax dollars, nor were jobs created. Instead, for a time,

residents were saddled with expensive

electricity bills. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin

mining firm moved many of its computers to the next town,

where electricity costs were lower. Colin Read is no longer

mayor of Plattsburgh. He wrote a book

about cryptocurrencies. He was initially excited

about blockchain technology, but heís been disillusioned. If you look at who controls

the wealth of Bitcoin, it's large corporations,

it's multi-millionaires, it's billionaires as venture

capitalists, Wall Street, the complete entities

that Bitcoin and Satoshi were designed to take out of the

equation, now dominate the market. Large companies

are involved wherever digital money is

replacing cash. US companies especially

are at the forefront, with GooglePay,

ApplePay and PayPal. The European monetary authorities

are facing pressure on two sides: from Bitcoin and from large

private US-based companies. That's why the European

Central Bank is turning its attention to developing

the ìdigital euro.î We think the digital euro

must also be there to continue to limit the market power

of these global companies just as it works with cash. We need to ensure the

strategic independence of Europe. So the E-C-B also wants to get

into the business of digital money. The digital euro, however, would be very different

from the decentralized Bitcoin. Thatís because theoretically, every transaction by citizens

could be monitored by the E-C-B. The only reason why they want

to use blockchain technology, the only reason why they

want to create the CBDC, is they want to monitor people. They want to have control. They want to

implement credit scores. They want people to do

exactly what they are told and instill fear that if

you don't do what I say, I'm going to have

access to your money. We have no interest

in controlling people. When designing the digital euro, we want to make it so that

we donít receive personal data in the Eurosystem, and instead have

anonymous transactions in our books. We don't want to know

who has a particular account or who that person is. Thereís deep

mistrust on both sides. Banks and states fear that

a decentralized currency without state supervision

will lead to crime and chaos. Bitcoin users believe the

state and banks want control. If you believe in

courts and laws, then you shouldn't

be too worried about this

potential visibility. If you have little faith

in the courts and laws, then yeah, perhaps this would

be something to be worried about. El Zonte has had the nickname

ìBitcoin Beachî for a while now. But actually, all of El Salvador

has become something of a test case for Bitcoin. Here, human rights are not

guaranteed and the judiciary has very little power. In 2021, it became the first country

to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender a move spearheaded by

populist president, Nayib Bukele. This was this unique

opportunity for them. They saw this as wow, how else could we literally

overnight have El Salvador known throughout the

world, be in all these articles? Have people change the

narrative that even if people are speaking negative,

they're talking about the money and the tech rather than

the gangs and the murder. The beginning of the

Bitcoin era in El Salvador was celebrated

with great fanfare. Thousands of crypto enthusiasts

cheered on their rock star leader. Nayib Bukele projected

himself as a cross between a baseball cap-wearing

rapper and a savior. And he made his

stance on Bitcoin clear. This is not a good

or cool or nice idea. This is the evolution

of humankind. So weíre going there. You canít stop evolution. This ìevolutionî was heavily

promoted in El Salvador. Every citizen who

downloaded Chivo, the state-run

Bitcoin wallet app, received 30 dollars-worth

of Bitcoin as a gift. A controversial means

of winning people over. Maybe he understood

Bitcoin, maybe heís crazy, maybe heís running an

experiment, we just donít know. It could have been any country. Honestly for me it's not

relevant that itís El Salvador. Whatís important is that a

country somewhere in the world dared to take this step, and Iím fairly certain that

other countries will follow, even if it takes a

few more years. The reality is: There are only a few

stores in El Salvadorís capital that actually

accept Bitcoin. Especially after its value

dropped at the end of 2022. Most people use the dollar. Can one pay in Bitcoin? Nope, not here. Too hard? I never tried it. Not at the moment, no oneís

come to explain how it works. Unfortunately, my

children's school or my son's university doesnít

accept payments in Bitcoin. According to a survey, 70 percent of El

Salvadorís population distrust the

new legal tender. Many businesses that accept Bitcoin

immediately exchange for dollars. But the Bitcoin community

abroad remains enthusiastic. I absolutely love

what he's doing because by making

Bitcoin legal tender, he's essentially taking

power back for his country and telling everybody

else in the world: This is what we're doing. And I'm trying to improve

the quality of life of my people the best way I can. In reality, Bukele wants to

make his country independent from the influence

of foreign institutions like the International

Monetary Fund. If Salvadorans buy Bitcoin without

the state-run Chivo app, their assets would be safe from

their own governmentís influence. Imagine we live in a country

with unstable institutions, and I have 5,000 currency

units in my account not necessarily in euro. The state doesn't like it. So what does it do? It could potentially take

the money away from me. In other words, a kind of expropriation

or confiscation is possible if the value is determined

from the outside, by a state or a banking system

or government or a central bank. But itís not

possible with Bitcoin. El Salvador has become a place

of pilgrimage for Bitcoin believers. There are even plans

to build a "Bitcoin City.î Traders, crypto miners,

and entrepreneurs would live and work together there. The president's cousin is trying

to attract investors and startups. So far, a huge crypto city at the foot of a volcano

is still a pipe dream. You get zero percent income

tax, zero percent capital gains, property tax, payroll

tax, municipal taxes, and zero percent

to CO2 emissions. Building this new

financial hub would cost an estimated one billion dollars in one of the poorest

countries in the world, where the average annual

income is about 4 thousand euros. Nayib Bukele is

counting on support and funding from abroad. Iím fully convinced that sooner

or later there will be Bitcoin cities. There are people who want to

be engaged in this community. So theyíll pack up and suddenly

start moving to El Salvador. It's a bit like

religions in the past, where believers would

gather in monasteries or elsewhere and live

and do things together. Money is based

on trust and belief. Cryptocurrencies have added a new

dimension to how we think about money. El Salvador is reflective of the

fear and hope surrounding Bitcoin. But cryptocurrencies have

already changed the world. And in all likelihood,

itís just the beginning.