Cryptocurrencies and Digital Payments

Last Wednesday ABC met via Zoom to discuss Cryptocurrencies. We first discussed whether Bitcoin is viable as a currency; Rohan pointed out that currencies need to be stable in order to be widely adopted, and Bitcoin is currently very volatile. Bitcoin also consumes a significant amount of energy per transaction, which makes it inefficient and potentially dangerous to the environment. We also discussed Tesla's purchase of $1.5 Billion worth of Bitcoin, which James pointed out, and whether that is setting a precedent for other S&P 500 companies. This segued into Luc asking the club whether they owned any Bitcoin; no one except Luc owned any. Luc told the rest of the club to "have fun staying poor," a common joke amongst Bitcoiners. Nonetheless, Luc also pointed out that anyone who owns an S&P 500 index fund technically owns Bitcoin, as Tesla ––who owns Bitcoin–– is an S&P 500 component.

The meeting next transitioned into a discussion of digital currencies and digital payments. While it originated in a discussion of the Chinese digital yuan, and the freedom-related impacts of this innovation, we also discussed, at the suggestion of Raymond, whether it was ethical to eliminate cash as a payment method in America. Despite the clear negative impacts of forcing homeless and elderly people to adopt technology, we also acknowledged that China utilizes a cashless payments system with seemingly few difficulties. Digital payments are also immensely more secure than cash payments. Moreover, in today's world, it is exceptionally easy to sign up for a bank account or a Venmo/Cash App/Paypal account. In a bid to capture the 'best of both worlds,' Kenichi pragmatically proposed that regulators could require grocery and convenience stores to accept cash, but allow other businesses to go cashless –– which the club overwhelmingly agreed with.