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Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#61

Post by asystole »

berkes wrote: post #25
troupo wrote: post #3

I really really really like cashless payments I really really really dislike that my money can be whisked away at the whim of a cray government or a glitch in the system

I really really really would think that Bitcoin fills this exact need. There's a lot wrong with the cryptocurrency world and with Bitcoin specifically. So much wrong, that I'm afraid we closed the one way out of government and corporate-controlled "digital money" and all the risks that comes with. But maybe it never was a good "way out" in the first place: maybe there never was a way out at all. I keep hoping the gri…

Bitcoin is getting better all the time. There are more people focusing purely on payments in the bitcoin space than you think. The lightning network is halfway usable now, and federated mint type systems (like cashu[1]) are very promising.

[1]: https://docs.cashu.space

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#62

Post by reactordev »

berkes wrote: post #25
troupo wrote: post #3

I really really really like cashless payments I really really really dislike that my money can be whisked away at the whim of a cray government or a glitch in the system

I really really really would think that Bitcoin fills this exact need. There's a lot wrong with the cryptocurrency world and with Bitcoin specifically. So much wrong, that I'm afraid we closed the one way out of government and corporate-controlled "digital money" and all the risks that comes with. But maybe it never was a good "way out" in the first place: maybe there never was a way out at all. I keep hoping the gri…

But if the cray government(s) wanted to, they could prevent you from turning that BTC into fiat and vice versa.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#63

Post by generic92034 »

toenail wrote: post #50
keiferski wrote: post #41

Obligatory Neuromancer (1984) reference: His total assets were quickly converted to New Yen, a fat sheaf of the old paper currency that circulated endlessly through the closed circuit of the world's black markets like the seashells of the Trobriand islanders. It was difficult to transact legitimate business with cash in the Sprawl; in Japan, it was already illegal. I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be…

> I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be labeled as a "criminal" activity and gradually shamed into non-use by regular people. Of course. The only people who need cash are criminals and terrorists. Now move along citizen.

That would not work at all in many countries. There are some with a strong attachment to cash.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#64

Post by thaumasiotes »

croes wrote: post #36
mypastself wrote: post #6

> [On] 23rd August 1994, the chaotic music duo and performance artists Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty burned £1m of notes behind a boathouse on the Scottish island of Jura. They are not alone in attempting to reduce money’s power… They literally increased the purchasing power of each remaining pound by doing so.

>They literally increased the purchasing power of each remaining pound by doing so. Did they. Notes aren't a limited resource and they can still be considered in the cashflow

Assuming they (or someone else) owned the notes, yes. By reducing their own holdings, they raised the value of everyone else's.

If the notes were counterfeit or had otherwise managed to come into existence without being owned by anyone, then no.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#65

Post by yaky »

madsbuch wrote: post #11

I Denmark we are removing the 1000kr bill as of May 2025. from then on the highest bill. is 500kr which is roughly equal to 80 usd. Denmark Is the most cashless society I have yet experiences (and I have been traveling a fair bit). This comes with pros and cons. and I think the reason why it works is because of an incredibly high social trust.

In the US, we have $100 and $50 bills officially in circulation, but many places will refuse to take them as payment, even though they will take smaller denominations. I believe this is usually described as avoiding counterfeit money and/or not keeping more than a certain amount of cash in the register.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#66

Post by Fbnkigffb66tfbj »

impossiblefork wrote: post #31

I think what's required is electronic cash, something like a CBDC with an electronically transferable, partially anonymous system that still allows offline payments if case the central computers get knocked out. GNU Taler satisfies one half of these constraints (cashlikeness + taxability). The Swedish e-krona pilot also has a token based component to allow offline payments.

I can't imagine any major government would willing give its citizens anonymity when they have such a perfect excuse for ratcheting up surveillance with a database of our entire financial lives.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#67

Post by ajmurmann »

unicornmama wrote: post #56
berkes wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really really really would think that Bitcoin fills this exact need. There's a lot wrong with the cryptocurrency world and with Bitcoin specifically. So much wrong, that I'm afraid we closed the one way out of government and corporate-controlled "digital money" and all the risks that comes with. But maybe it never was a good "way out" in the first place: maybe there never was a way out at all. I keep hoping the gri…

This is preposterous. Bitcoin is more traceable, more transparent and more censorship prone than every form of currency conveyance we know of including cash, diamonds, physical gold, etc… The fact that’s 2024 and some people still believe Bitcoin enables privacy just goes to show how crypto enthusiasts are candy brained fanatics.

To add to this, I also anecdotally know many more people who lost Bitcoin due to bad key management or keeping their Bitcoin in a platform that failed instead of cold storage. I don't personally know a single person whose money disappeared from their bank account for no reason.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#68

Post by okasaki »

Our_Benefactors wrote: post #48
Alifatisk wrote: post #33

I believe once we go fully cashless, we'll regret it and wish we could go back. I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

Currently in China which is pretty much fully cashless and I fucking hate it. Get Alipay. Link your credit card. Put in a pin, but no not that pin because it has two consecutive numbers. Pick a different pin. Forget it by the time you need to pay and reset your pin. Go to the grocery store and have to download a new app to pay, they can’t take Alipay even though it’s the same parent company. Oh the machine didn’t wor…

Okay, but somehow the rest of the billion people manage it?

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#69

Post by LordGrey »

xbmcuser wrote: post #5

I personally started using digital payments once phone touchpay systems came out previously you had to take out cash or card from your wallet to pay so I would still use cash. But once phone payment became common just tapping your phone to pay had a lot less friction than taking out wallet and paying cash or by card.

I started using digital payments once I got an Apple Watch. Double-click a button on the side, tap the watch on the reader, I'm done. Very little friction and good security; it is really a no-brainer. Provided the reader accepts Apple Pay, that is....

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#70

Post by keiferski »

toenail wrote: post #50
keiferski wrote: post #41

Obligatory Neuromancer (1984) reference: His total assets were quickly converted to New Yen, a fat sheaf of the old paper currency that circulated endlessly through the closed circuit of the world's black markets like the seashells of the Trobriand islanders. It was difficult to transact legitimate business with cash in the Sprawl; in Japan, it was already illegal. I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be…

> I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be labeled as a "criminal" activity and gradually shamed into non-use by regular people. Of course. The only people who need cash are criminals and terrorists. Now move along citizen.

Sorry, my comment was too vaguely written, but I meant to imply that it won't be the government that does this, but regular people enforcing social norms.

"We aren't the kind of people that use cash," and so forth.

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