Crypto Alone – A Financial Revolution or Chaos?

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From what I understand, cryptocurrency is an alternative to Fiat money. It's a decentralized digital currency, meaning it isn't controlled by one person or power.

It isn't controlled by the government through the central bank.

And it's also secure and a financial revolution.

Now I tried imagining a world that runs on cryptocurrency alone.

When you imagine it, it would sound and look so cool. It means the world going further into the future and a revolution into the modern age.

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The thought of taking away the hoarded financial power and financial distribution away from the hands of the government itself alone is appealing to me.

Besides, I have experienced a lot of issues with the banking system.

Is it the many transactions that have been delayed or the unavailability?

There are some things that you need to do, and you would need to go to the bank to complete the process.

And in my country, there are still some places without banks.

So just imagine having to travel to another state just for a simple process or a little problem.

I have an aunty that lives in Ahoada, and I did an important transaction that ended up hanging.

She didn't only miss the chance of the reason for the transaction, but she also had to travel to another state just to sort out this problem.

If she had access to crypto and was able to use crypto to make the transaction, I believe she wouldn't have gone through any of the stress she went through.

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Then when we come down to the problems of crypto. Just as it comes with security, it also can't be traced. I think it is actually now used widely by fraudsters. Not only fraudsters but also used for money laundering, tax evasion, and other crimes without protective regulations in place.

The strong security also comes with the problem of lost access—if your password or private keys are lost, you can't go to any bank for recovery.

The mining of most of these cryptocurrencies also consumes a lot of electricity. And this will also affect the environment. I can't even imagine what the case would be if my country, Nigeria, were to mine its own cryptocurrency.

Because from what I know and have seen all my life, electricity here is something scarce and unreliable.

Also, crypto is something that is very volatile. Its value fluctuates crazily. I don't think the economy will be able to stand on crypto. The economy might just end up being a mess.

And lastly, the availability is something to be worried about. My country, Nigeria, can hardly survive for a year with the cashless policy because there are many people that aren't in the same century with us. Some people don't even know how to operate a simple mobile phone. These are people that thrive constantly on cash transactions. If you take that away, there will be no means of survival for them.

Last weekend, I went to my aunt's house, and I was shocked when it was evening and I heard, ‘Con con con con!’ like someone was hitting a stick on a tin can.

And then a man started shouting to the compound to hear him—a town crier just for the compound.

When I started laughing, my aunt told me that there was a problem with the borehole and most of the people living in the compound don't have mobile phones. So there was no way to converse online via a WhatsApp group or something.

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So on one hand, while relying wholly on crypto can empower individuals and eliminate all the corruption that comes with government-controlled money,

On the other hand, it could cause financial instability, lack of regulation, and accessibility issues that could create chaos.

So I think it's best we just leave it as it is now—using both means. The idea of a crypto system is good.

But are we ready for both the exciting opportunities and the dangerous uncertainties it brings?