The CEO of Coinbase is revealing what he thinks the most important use cases for cryptocurrencies are.
In a new Coinbase blog post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong attempts to answer the question “what is crypto even useful for?”
First, Armstrong says that out-of-control money printing has caused an increasing level of economic inequality via inflation and stagnation, creating a need for a new financial system.
“For over 50 years, a familiar pattern that we’ve seen throughout history has played out in the US: the government spends more than it earns because it can print money for ‘free’, and years or decades later, people pay the price through high inflation and stagnation.
The average person may not understand the nuances of quantitative easing and federal budget deficits, but they do notice rising prices of gas, food, and education, and they increasingly have a sense that something is amiss in our economy. In fact, 87% of Americans feel the current financial system needs an update. More than half of younger Americans use the system just sometimes or not at all.”
Against that backdrop, Armstrong argues that crypto is necessary to return to “sound money,” something that he says is world-changing on its own.
“This brings us to the first, and arguably most important, use case for cryptocurrency, which is that a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, is a return to sound money. Like gold, bitcoin is not a national currency backed by a single government.
Inflation is a regressive tax in America and abroad, harming the poorest people in society the most. Bitcoin is hard money with a fixed supply, and is a solution to this problem. If inventing digitally native sound money were the only utility of crypto, it would still be a world changing technology, but that is just the start.”
Armstrong also says crypto is providing a much-needed digitization of the US dollar, a solution for fast and cheap global payments, a business model for creative workers, and a possible solution to centralized social media.
The Coinbase CEO also encourages Americans to visit Standwithcrypto.org “to help ensure pro-crypto candidates get elected in upcoming elections.”
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