Posted 12 Jul 2017
“Well, it is digital now.” “Digital” comes from the latin digitalis word, from digitus (which means finger or toe). But now it is quite synonymous with televisions, computers, cameras, watches, music players and many others. But what is a digital or the digital democracy?
Honored as a free force by most people, the printing press lead a rebellion during its time. The books that was made available for most of the people was absolutely taken as a revolution; technological devices and e-books are also available presently for them to read with.
Since it’s a fact that the original words were encoded into a form of numerical and was decoded back to its original word form doesn’t really suggest that we don’t trust the words we’re reading but rather the beauty of a physical book is still preferred compared to something that a high –tech device which may constantly need a battery fully charged in order to be utilized to keep working. Will the digital currencies like bitcoin can really give something to contribute to a better change socially in as a fascinating manner?
In order to address this matter, we must consider what of money and how are we going to decipher it, utilize it and include it into a tenable ideal of an “improved world for everyone?” Not like the other forms of property, money is considered unique since you can readily use it for anything even before an event happens. It doesn’t signify anything but can be utilized for the great good as well as the great evil.
Money is money inspite having many consequences and manifestations. It is considered unique but most of the time a misused and misunderstood commodity. It can easily facilitate buy and sell and is also a mathematical complication as illustrated by the business markets;
So that the currency can effectively do its required financial functions, the money’s intrinsic-value should be customary held belief by people who does utilize it. It was on November of 2013 when virtual currencies such as Bitcoin were acknowledged as a legal payment means by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the US. Since the ‘Bitcoin network’ does have transaction fees that are very cheap, it can readily give a very great way to allow fund transfer for migrant workers that sends money to their families back home without the need to pay for expensive transfer fees that being charged currently by companies.
It was calculated by a European Commission that if given the chance the average global remittance that is currently ten (10) percent will be decreased to five (5) percent (the ‘five by five’ in 2011 that was endorsed by G20), will end up having an additional 17 billion USD that goes into the developing countries; hence, the blockchain usage would drop the fees to almost zero. These money transfer or remittance companies that draw out wealth from this system may end up disintermediated by the utilization of this infrastructure.
Almost certainly, the most significant point to take note with regards to cryptocurrencies are the network’s decentralized and distributed nature. With the Internet’s growth, maybe we are just looking at what we commonly call as “tip of the iceberg” with respect to the future innovation that may harness undiscovered possibilities for letting decentralization but at a previously unimaginable or unseen scale.
Hence in the past, if a large network was a needed, it was only attainable by going through the hierarchical structure; in which the network’s power should be surrendered to a small quantity of people bearing controlling interest. It might have been mentioned that decentralization of money is what Bitcoin represents, as well as the maneuver to a system approach that is simple. Bitcoin shows to be as important as an advancement as p2p file sharing and also internet telephone (i.e. Skype)
The legal regulation produced for virtual or digital currencies is just very little, but there are ample laws existing already which may be applicable but high dependent on each nation’s legal financial system for: Banking, Money Transmitting Regulation, Criminal or Civil Law, Securities Regulation, Commodities and Stock Regulation, Consumer Rights or Protection Pensions Regulation, Taxation and others. In this case, the two major issues with Bitcoin are if it can be considered as a legal tender and also, if considered an asset it would then be categorized as a property.
It’s a usual practice for country states to expressly characterize money as a legal tender for another country state (i.e. US dollars), keeping them from recognizing these other “currencies” formally as a currency. An important exclusion to this however is Germany that permits for the idea of a certain “unit of account” which can accordingly be utilized as a “private money” form as well as be used in a clearing circle that is “multilateral”.
But aside from being taken as a property, digital currencies’ apparent variation in this instance is having a capacity to be divided into much smaller value. Economies that are open and developed are permissive generally to virtual currencies. The most guidance has been issued by the USA and represented highly on the map underneath. Economies that capitally controlled are viably by definition hostile or contentious. Concerning numerous Africans and a couple of different nations this idea hasn’t been addressed yet.
Beginning from the standards of fair cooperation it is instantly obvious that bitcoin does not fulfill the positive social effect segment of such a target in so far compared to its value isn't one it can apply impact over but rather is liable to advertise strengths. But any "new" cryptocurrency may give out law based interest when the digital currency has diverse rules of administration and issuance in light of all the more socially based majority rule standards.
So if given a situation where a virtual currency could give a valid option to existing money forms in playing out the part of having to positively contribute to: the objectives of advancing a socially comprehensive culture, the equality of chance and mutualism promotion; in which as implied by their name are complementary and/or alternative to a national or official sovereign money? Digital cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are considered a new and rising dynamic in the framework; however in their early stages, the pace of development in the field of digital forms of money had been melodramatic.
There are various factors which decide the “viability” of money to achieve positive environmental and social change; infesting political belief system, financial condition, the yearning of neighborhood groups and people to seek alternative social results while trying to augment economic opportunity, working of social capital, and numerous others.
In the event that a local virtual currency can be fashioned to incorporate additional strength to a local economy and also enhance economic results then presentation on a more across the board premise merits examination. At the point when the present economic system can’t deliver, it is showed in such courses as: expanded social isolation, physical dereliction, higher crime rates, no sense of community, poor health, among other social impacts that are undesirable.
Is the future digital?