The Transfer Of Value Into The Digital Space.
By Reuben Machinga
The arrival of cryptocurrency has allowed us to transfer value into the digital space. To see how this has happened, we need to build a basic understanding of what value is, see how it has been distributed in the traditional economic system and, after that, explore how the arrival of cryptocurrency creates new opportunities for the transfer and distribution of value.
So, what is value? Value can be understood to be the worth of all the benefits and rights arising from ownership. Value can be utilitarian or it can come from the power to command other goods and services. It can also be derived from the money one can earn from voluntary exchange.
The Traditional Financial Markets
Let’s move our discussion on to money. When that word comes up, most of us immediately think of bank notes. Added to bank notes are bank deposits. In order not to get bogged down in monetary theory, let’s limit ourselves to these two.
Money, in the way we have understood it thus far, has been incredibly useful. With it, we have built a sophisticated economic system. A significant proportion of societies around the world own some form of property. It can be anything from small household items, all the way to the home itself. The traditional…