Why now is the time to
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s we emerge from the coronavirus-induced economic lockdown, it is vital to consider what comes next for business. In the UK, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that government’s life-saving interventions to prop up the country through the crisis could cost over £100bn. Meanwhile, the European Union has predicted that a recession of “historic propor ons” will happen this year. What this means is that fiat currencies linked to sovereign governments are going to become very expensive. Someone has to pay for the mountain of debt being racked up by governments, and that will potentially mean higher taxes, or higher infla on which erodes the value of wages and savings. Larger companies may be able to raise capital through tradi onal measures, but it is going to become more expensive. And what about pubs, independent restaurants, and local football clubs? These places are o en cornerstones for communi es, and they are likely to be hammered by a recession. They cannot issue equity on the stock market -- it is prohibi vely expensive. 96 europeanbusinessmagazine.com
As the economy reopens, what role could crypto play in helping these businesses access capital and get back on their feet? Perhaps now is the me to normalise a prac ce called tokenisa on. Many will already be aware of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. These digital coins are gradually becoming more accepted around the world, and the current crisis is likely to accelerate their wider adop on -especially as many may fear physical coins and paper money could transmit the coronavirus. Poli cians from the US to China are discussing creating digital equivalents to their currencies, as they are easier and cheaper to distribute, and prevent fraud. Meanwhile, regulators are becoming more understanding and accep ng of crypto, as technology provides more robust protec on and oversight. Even leading financial institutions, from Fidelity to Goldman Sachs, are taking cryptocurrency seriously. Cryptocurrencies are effectively tokens that represent a store of value and can be exchanged. But while a cryptocurrency is traded publicly,
crypto tokens can be created privately, and for specific purposes. Tokenisa on is the process of taking an asset, and dividing ownership of the asset into several cryptographic tokens. Much like a share certificate or loan note represents that the holder owns equity in a company or a stake of a debt, so too can tokens represent frac onal ownership of an asset. The difference is that it is a much cheaper and more efficient process than tradi onal share ownership. Selling shares in a business o en requires dealing with an investment bank and financial ins tu ons, as well as paying for a registrar to handle and distribute share cer ficates. It is a high-cost and complex process. In contrast, because crypto token exchanges are recorded onto a blockchain, it is more decentralised, democratised, and low-cost. After the Covid-19 crisis, private ins tuons looking to liquidate their assets should consider issuing tokens as a cheaper and more direct approach to raising capital. This is not uncharted territory. The beer chain BrewDog has raised
