A few weeks ago, I started re-watching Seinfeld on Netflix (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Being a 90s kid, I watched a lot of Seinfeld growing up. However, watching it again in 2021 has been a (pleasantly) different experience. Mainly, I can't help noticing all of the outdated technology and customs!
Examples
- Jerry receives a 2 line home phone as a gift
- George and Jerry plan a break-in to replace the tape on George's girlfriend's answering machine (an actual physical machine used to record messages)
- Any plot in which the characters get lost and can't find each other. Why don't they just use their cell phones? Oh yeah..
- Jerry talks to the man who stole his car on his car phone
This got me to thinking - what sort of things do we use today which people from 20 or 30 years from now will find humourous as well? More specifically, what sorts of things that we use today will be made obsolete by crypto technology?
Paper Money & Coins
I'll start with an obvious one - paper money and coins. I must admit, the thought does that we may one day live in a society with no paper money or coins does sadden me slightly. Why? I enjoy seeing what money looks like in different countries!
However, many societies have already began moving towards a more paper-less friendly system. The introduction of credit cards, online banking, e-transfers and many other digital features have greatly reduced our need to carry around coins and bills on us.
Until we reach the point where paper money and coins fall the way of the dodo, I will keep collecting coins and bills from all of the countries I visit. Perhaps one day I'll show my grandchildren a quarter and they'll wonder what kind of old game it was...
Tickets
I distinctly remember as a kid receiving a pair of NBA tickets for my birthday. I remember holding them, being in awe of where I'd be sitting and admiring the 2 sports logos plastered right in the middle. For those interested, it was the Toronto Raptors vs the Los Angeles Lakers (or more specifically, Vince vs Kobe).
Nowadays, we can show digital tickets when we enter concerts, movie theatres, sporting events, or any other public gathering requiring tickets. Sport specific crypto projects such as Chiliz, Flow and any number of 'Fan Tokens' are booming currently and offering a whole new experience for fans who use them. This includes exclusive giveaways, NFTs and many other things related to a particular club or league.
Some might argue that it was really the internet and mobile ticketing that struck first in the battle against paper tickets, and they wouldn't be wrong. However, I think we will see a great increase in crypto adoption by major sports leagues and teams - allowing fans to interact with their favourite team and players in a whole new way.
Banks
Banks??? Really??? You mean the institutions that literally run the world - in hand with governments and big business? Hear me out...
One of the biggest benefits of crypto is its decentralized nature. Without the need for a centralized '3rd party', cryptocurrency effectively can make banks obsolete. Is this a realistic expectation? Probably not.
However, does it sound like an idealistic future I'd be interested in? Absolutely.
Instead of investing in worthless savings accounts from traditional banks, you could stake your crypto and earn interest. Or, stake your crypto as collateral for a loan on sites such as BlockFi or Celcius. Sounds simple, but there are roadblocks.
Banks are incredibly powerful and any technology or invention which would work to make them obsolete would have to fight a lot of battles in order to win. While some of these may be relatively 'easy' when viewed with a long timeframe lens (such as achieving widespread adoption), others will be much more difficult. Governments would have to abandon FIAT currency and you can bet banks will put up a fight.
A more likely scenario might be banks and governments adopting crypto technology and currency while still maintaining control (such as through a government backed stable coin). While this prediction might fall short of the revolutionary 'down with traditional banks' expectation some might have on here, all is not lost. As long as banks and governments allow private citizens to hold private cryptos (I'm looking at you Bitcoin), society and the financial system should be better off than we are today.
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