The future of money | Neha Narula

What happens when the way we buy, sell and pay for things changes, perhaps even removing the need for banks or currency exchange bureaus? That's the radical promise of a world powered by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. We're not there yet, but in this sparky talk, digital currency researcher Neha Narula describes the collective fiction of money — and paints a picture of a very different looking future.

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[terrj]

The irony of the story is that this respectful and intelligent lady is now working with central banks and the BIS to create a new form of centralized bitcoin called CBDC, crazy right?

[Goldsilver]

If only everyday folks understood the difference between currency and money...

[MsRoshniAli]

"Money is Collective Fiction." === Great lines.

[uctopgulumvardi]

This lady has the best way of presenting and talking about this. Very clean and easy told. Smoothly. Very nice!

[Larz]

The country that the stone money is from is called "Yap" not "The Yap" the people from there are called Yapese. The stone money has value because they were carved from far away places like Palau. Most often the carvings and the transportation of the money were perilous and dangerous. People died transporting the money hence the value.

[stevev]

Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are not currencies, they are speculative investments. Their value can change dramatically.

[andygee]

The best TED talk I've ever seen. I know and understand cryptocurrencies well but the story telling, concise sentences and amazing range of subjects covered clearly, with adequate pauses between sentences was phenomenal. This remarkable lady has accomplished what so many have tried and failed at. A clear description of why the future of money is changing, how it's changing, why it's changing and what the implications could be. Bravo Neha Narula, bravo!

[paulussantosociwidjaja]

What a power of Collective Learning for our Better Living on this planet earth. Thank you for sharing in such a plain way easy to understand. Cheers.

[elmoyou]

IMPORTANT: All crypto currencies use the same basic principle/assumption. That is that the collective computing power of a crypto currency mining network is always going to be more powerful( and faster) than any individual actor. This has 2 very important implications:
1) Any crypto currency requires a (costly) mining infrastructure in order to operate. Who pays for all that operational overhead?
2) If a mining infrastructure somehow collapses, and with it the cryptographic integrity, what happens to the value stored in the network?

There is a good reason why big computing players like e.g. IBM are now investing in crypto currencies. Because they have access to enormous amounts of computing power. But as a user, we will just exchange one set of powerful manipulating actors (traditional banking sector and/or governments) with another set of actors with an equal amount of manipulative powers (but far less regulations or accountability).

The often mentioned "democratization" of money by crypto currencies is a red herring. Yes, it could take away the control governments and banks currently have over money, but it will only put that power into the hands of whomever who has the ability to manipulate or disrupt a crypto currency mining infrastructure. And that is only one of the fundamental flaws of crypto currencies.

Another flaw is that when only a few people can really (in detail) understand how a system works, it become rather easy for people with the right information to manipulate the system without users even noticing what is going on. There is a good reason why most successful currency systems throughout history have been easy to understand (and hard to destroy). Crypto currencies are too much magic, too much smoke and mirrors, for it to be really trustworthy as a currency.

Of course, people can choose to place trust in whatever they don't understand. But is that smart? What if those who promote crypto currencies are just trying to cash in, while knowing very well that our current problems with money are just going to be shifted to different actors/facilitators?

[jolin]

resources based economy is the future.

[fvnordby]

How do you buy a candle with bitcoin when the power is out?

[torguttormsyvertsen]

“ Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the center."
— Vitalik Buterin

[Chris-kwnx]

The future of money will be our ideas. Our creativity and innovations are what will drive value. A piece of paper or even a golden brick won't mean anything one day. Those who don't think and don't put the effort to create will be left behind.

[Vibhups]

Man it's been 5 years this talk still works

[DashedSimpusMaximus]

The two stories she told are so irrelevant to what she tried to compare it with. The digital era, bit coins and other such currencies are the future because of their free market principles however government wont be able to tax them at all, because only the sender and reciever know the amounts being transfered..
A total Ancap society which is inevitable when we embrace this currency and free trade totally, governments and higher interests don't like this notion because they will lose all controle they have now.
Many still stand in the way of this progression towards this highly technological/free market future, this is achievable in Europe but politics over the decade has stopped and reversed this progress.

"if i can control a nation's wealth i care not who makes its laws" Nathan Rothschild.
People such as this one are a problem which will inhibited the progress towards a bright future.

[diegopachon]

Mr Robot will deal with this issue in the next season :D

[thefridgefreezer]

I'm wondering after watching this, without institutions of regulation how would society combat one of bitcoin's greatest current flaws (imo) which is its instability. Capitalism has a tendency towards booms and busts but in bitcoin each burst of the bubble has been more extreme and more damaging than the last.

[Lazyeyewitness]

She's soooo much better at explaining this to non technical people than just about anyone.

[femaledeer]

And contractors, auto repair shops, pizza shop take cash to avoid paying taxes so cash will never go away.

[synthrave]

A simple cash system works just fine. It's greed and corruption that's the problem.