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The Inquiry: Can digital currency replace the cash system?

01/12/2022 GMT

Can digital currency replace the cash system?

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Can digital currency replace the cash system?

What is digital currency, how do we use it and do we even want it?

The recent FTX collapse shook the cryptocurrency world.  If billions of dollars can disappear so easily, is it safer to stick to a cash system?

We use digital currency every day whenever we use a credit card, bank online or shop for goods on the internet.  We can use our phones as money and transfer cash to family and friends simply by using numbers. 

It’s not exactly cash we are using, but a digital representation of that cash.  Some digital currencies, such as cryptocurrency, even exist outside of the traditional banking system.  Recently the cryptocurrency trading exchange FTX collapsed leaving creditors owed billions of dollars.  There’s not much chance any of that money can be returned because it wasn’t actually linked to a cash system. 

If so many of our transactions and speculations are now digital, can we ditch the cash altogether?

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking Can digital currency replace the cash system?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham
Researcher: John Cossee
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical producer: Craig Boardman
Production support:  Jacqui Johnson


(Image: Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies: 
Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

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