MENTHER SUSTAINABILITY
BREAKING EVERY CHAIN A story of African Perspective
T
he term “cryptocurrency” is one that we hear increasingly in a world filled with alluring and enticing “must know” trends. As a social entrepreneur working partly in the financial literacy space I knew that this persistent and daunting new trend would eventually come knocking at my door and I would have to decide whether or not to answer the call. Having heard the inevitable knock, this article relays my attempt at turning the door knob (or, in line with the times: using biometric recognition to open an automated door) and letting in the winds of change. When mapping out the
feasibility of a new disruptive tool, platform or trend in a South African context, I firstly look at how its application is an enabler of access to the fundamental fruits of democracy that are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic. In this instance, the question that sprang to my mind was whether or indeed how cryptocurrencies would enable or interact with the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom which are specifically detailed in section 7(1) of Chapter two of the Constitution. You may be curious as to the gravitas of our Constitution in the context of cryptocurrencies. Simply put, the South African Constitution is held in high esteem by even the most democratically progressive countries in the world and should
therefore be a compass that guides our conduct and the mindset with which we drive and embrace innovation. In the quest to uphold and strengthen the democratic values mentioned above, three inevitable questions come to mind: 1. What universal problem do cryptocurrencies have the potential to solve? 2. Who is empowered by cryptocurrencies? 3. What barriers are being broken by these digital currencies? A good place to start is the very definition, according to the Oxford dictionary cryptocurrency is: ‘a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority’. This definition is enough to trigger torrents of skepticism in most minds and
Inspire | Connect | Empower
15
