Fedcoin & settlement systems

This would essentially entail replacing central bank
systems for managing and transferring reserves
among banks to a blockchain ledger. It is far
more difficult to conceive of fedcoin replacing
cash and bank deposits in the broader economy
anytime soon.The Central banks would have to build
a dedicated back end to this cryptocurrency, and these
are costs it is unwilling to commit to at this time.

That brings the discussion back to the rise
and rise of bitcoin’s price. It is concerning that
most buyers are not doing so to gain access to
distributed applications. Rather, they are
speculating on price appreciation. Yet the
underlying technology is genuinely novel.
What is of interest is the competition
bitcoin is spawning in this digital market.
Consumer spending contnues to increase,
the ‘plumbing’ to ensure ATM’s are there
to service consumer needs is becoming
ever more costly, hence the need for a
digital currency that costs virtually
‘nil’ to maintain.

The opportunity that humans can transfer and store value,
however volatile, anywhere in the world , without the need
for a central third party and forex costs sounds
appetising. The data would also be
free from censorship and restrictions nationally.

But before it can become
embedded in daily society as something more
than an instrument of speculation ,bigger things
have to happen, including advances in education,
regulation, infrastructure, and demonstrated live
uses cases , something likely to lead to newer
economic challenges for the
savvy consumer market types of the
developed 1st World economies.