Cyber Security
The New Face of Money Highlights from the Singapore FinTech Festival 2020
D By
Jane Lo SINGAPORE CORRESPONDENT
10 | Cyber Risk Leaders Magazine
uring the tumultuous early days of the 2020 Covid19 news cycle, panic abounded. Besides the immediate health worries, the global trade and economy shut down unleashed waves of manic selloffs and flights-to-safety. In the financial markets, the Dow Jones suffered its worst day on 16th March 2020 since the 1987 “Black Monday” crash. The benchmark fear index (“VIX”) surpassed that of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Oil prices plunged into the negative territory for the first time in history. Stimulus policies, interest rates cuts and lenient reserve rules sparked concerns of inflationary money printing. Confidence tanked and gold’s reputation as “safe” powered it past the psychologically key $2,000 level. 2020 is reminiscent of the 2009 Global Financial Crisis. Just like today, the collapse of trust in 2009 prompted much soul-searching for cash alternatives. It was against this backdrop that Bitcoin burst into the scene as “an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.” Today’s crisis reveals the dramatic gains Bitcoin has made since its creation 12 years ago. What does its rise mean for gold, the tenacious old guard against disruptions?
And for cash, the incumbent recognised form of exchange? From the 2020 crisis, with the pandemic as a testing ground of sorts for these three contenders - Bitcoin, gold, cash – which will emerge as the face of money in the coming decades?
“Follow the Money” To paraphrase the popular catchphrase by the anonymous source “Deep Throat” in the movie “All the President’s Men”, trace the funds for the raison d'être. Tracing the history of money unveils the use of possessions (cattle, shells, salt, and of course gold), the evolution of its function (a method of payment, a unit of account, a store-of-value) and its role in political control (the debate over how the USD influences the geopolitical landscape is an example). Predicting how money will develop in the coming decades involves drawing on historical events. Moreover, as technology powers more and more of our daily lives, the view of money is also necessarily through a technological lens. And where money matters intersect with technology, the Singapore FinTech festival is the ideal forum. So, what are the views on how Bitcoin, gold and cash
