We are already heading in that direction. Credit cards, e-transfers, bitcoin. I think a lot of people already walk around without cash in their pocket. But eliminating the coin and bill altogether is a big step for an economic system to take, one which needs to work for everyone in every financial situation.
MORE MONEY MORE PROBLEMS
Eliminating psychical money would cut down on costs in the long run. We don't have to worry about printng costs, materials and shipping and handling fees. Digital currency is easy to send and recieve. The metal from coins can be recycled. Money has become inefficient and moving to a system where digital payment is user-friendly and accepted everywhere will help move the system along quicker. But the system needs to be accepted everywhere for it to work. One of the reasons cash has staying power is it doesn't need infrastructure to work. You give someone a $20 bill, they pocket it and the transaction is completed. For a digital system to take over completely every vendor needs a system in place and every person will need the means to use it and that can be costly.
IS IT SAFE?
Security, or the idea of feeling secure is an issue. The fear of hackers is a prominant one and one that conjures images of hooded figures stealing your life savings. But there are ways to stop it. Having an institution that is liable for lose is one and it creates jobs. Personally I feel more secure when my money is in a bank account then when I am holding on to it. I'm not insured for that random $20 bill that fell out of my pocket. There is a comfort knowing someone is protecting your money, as long as feel you can trust them. But banks and other institutions have yet to implete blockchain technology.
DOES STEEM HAVE STAYING POWER?
I'm curious to see how well steem works as a currency and how well it will translate into real world applications (hey can I give you an upvote as payment for my coffee). Right now it is a third link over, cryptocurrency needs to be exchanged for digital currency which can then be exchanged into physchical currnecy. But that is just a temporary problem, digital currency and cryptocurrency can be intergated together. It will depend on how people feel about blockchain technology. Having data permanent and public can be a problem for a lot of people and businesses. But bitcoin seems to have proven that it has staying power and with the 2 year investment of steem back into the system, steem should have a future, at least until we figure out what the world thinks of blockchains. I'm sure there are users on here who are a lot more versed in cryptocurrency and blockchains, what do you think of the idea of a digital economy?
(pexels.com)