Cryptocurrencies - The future of money? | DW Documentary

It's someone's freedom. It's someone's freedom. It is someone's silent protest. He's been kidnapped largely by opportunists, scammers, right? Scammers. Bitcoin can be

money

like gold is. But that doesn't mean Bitcoin is a currency. Society will be worse off in every way if we have a new Bitcoin speculative bubble than if the whole craze passed. In the North Pacific of Central America is the small town of El Zonte, El Salvador. The waves attract surfers from all over the world. But these picture-perfect moments only capture one reality. With 3,000 inhabitants, El Zonte is one of the poorest places in the country.

But its street food is famous. The national dish is called "pupusa". They are sold on almost every corner for only a couple of US dollars. María Aguirre accepts virtual

money

as payment. Through a smartphone app, customers can pay with Bitcoin, the world's oldest cryptocurrency. I was a little worried about accepting payments in Bitcoin because it is a virtual currency that is not well known. But it's been two years and I'm still using Bitcoin. At first, the decision paid off for María Aguirre. The value of Bitcoin skyrocketed to $60,000. But then, in just a few months, it lost more than two-thirds of its value.

Now Maria and about 50 fellow retailers can only hope the trend reverses. In theory, Bitcoin can be exchanged for dollars or euros at any time. In fact, holding this virtual currency instead of exchanging it can be a major gamble. Because the cryptocurrency market is very volatile. Short-term fluctuations often occur in which its value falls or rises by more than 10 percent. It's a risk some El Zonte retailers are willing to take. They pay and do business in Bitcoin, but they do not exchange their crypto assets for dollars in the hope that their value will increase. María Aguirre is one of them.

But at the end of 2022, things weren't looking so good. I have had losses, but I hope to recover them soon. Since then, the value of Bitcoin has risen again. Welcome news not only for María. A social Bitcoin project in El Zonte is funded by crypto donations. The project aims to prevent young people from turning to crime. Gangs and murders are a feared part of daily life in El Zonte. "Hope House" provides youth in the community with the resources to get a better start in life. The charity initiative offers educational courses, recreational activities and job opportunities.

In 2017 and 2018, many people had to suspend their support for this project due to various difficulties. But at the same time there were newcomers who wanted to help. And they used Bitcoin. The identity of the donor who offered financing to Jorge Valenzuela remains a great mystery. All that is known is that the person resided in the United States. Even the initiator of the non-profit organization "Bitcoin Beach" in El Salvador says that he does not know who was behind the donation. I mean it was a six-figure sum over several years that was injected into the community in dollar terms.

And it was definitely something substantial. What the donor was looking for was not to simply give Bitcoin to a project where they would convert it to dollars, which is what most nonprofits would want to do, that's the easiest thing to do. But they were looking for projects that were willing to use Bitcoin transactionally and believed that the use of Bitcoin would actually be more important than its monetary value. More than three years have passed since the project was launched. Those involved say there has been less crime. Additionally, many residents now live with stronger roofs over their heads.

Renato Salazar helped finance the new construction with Bitcoin, on behalf of multiple donors. But now families also need to pay their loans in Bitcoin. As you can see, it is concrete. 122 safe and stable homes instead of flimsier houses with tin roofs for 122 families. A not inconsiderable number considering that El Zonte only has a population of 3,000 inhabitants. Community members not only mix concrete, but also learn to pay in Bitcoin through their smartphones. They don't have bank accounts. Here they do not have access to any financial system, to any financial program. They do not have access to loans.

They do not have access to insurance. They don't have access to anything, right? So it would have been impossible for them to get a house like this. The Zonte is considered a test case for the

future

of money. No matter the capital of each person, here everyone, rich or poor, can do business within a decentralized system. No dollars, no banks, no bills. Is Bitcoin a better and more ethical type of money? Can it replace standard coins? Could it help relieve pressure on the world's poorest populations? There are many influencers and advocates who support Bitcoin – are they doing so in the name of economic justice?

They do it because they are trying to make the world a better place. They really believe that Bitcoin is good for people. And honestly, I understand that argument. There are many legitimate reasons why Bitcoin can be positive. Frankfurt is the banking capital of Europe. Here the development of

cryptocurrencies

is not perceived as something positive. The European Central Bank or ECB is especially critical of Bitcoin. In late 2022, the ECB published a blog post criticizing Bitcoin. It was considered a kind of declaration of war. The authors classified Bitcoin not as an innovation, but as a “speculative bubble,” and wrote that Bitcoin is taking its “last stand” as investors stubbornly hold out.

One of the authors is Ulrich Bindseil. If we have a new Bitcoin speculative bubble, society will be worse off than if all the madness happened. For the ECB, the idea of ​​creating money without its supervision is simply unthinkable. Only he has the right to print the cash he deems necessary. He opposes bypassing banks to transfer money because that weakens the role of banks. With its independence and global reach, Bitcoin is a nightmare for authorities, especially considering the speculation about its rise in value. Bitcoin is not suitable as a means of payment because its value is very unstable.

And a means of payment should not become a speculative investment. Both factors come together here. And people are being wooed with a positive narrative that the price of Bitcoin will continue to rise. Each Bitcoin transaction is stored as code on what is called a “blockchain.” What is unique is that the entire blockchain is stored identically on a network of thousands of computers. This is what makes Bitcoin a decentralized currency outside the control of the ECB or others. Bitcoin was created in 2008 and is described in this article, written by Satoshi Nakamoto. The real identity of the author is not even clear whether there is a single person or multiple people.

The first bitcoin cost only 0.06 euro cents. In 2021, the value of Bitcoin skyrocketed to more than 58 thousand euros. An initial investment of 5 cents would be worth at least 11 years later. The total amount of Bitcoins will be limited to about 21 million. source code that there will be no more beyond that, which is why many people believe that scarcity will drive up the price, while the leaders of the European Central Bank consider Bitcoin to be highly speculative. Researchers at the nearby Frankfurt School of Finance and Management have a very different opinion. position. The fact that Bindseil works for the European Central Bank does not automatically mean that he is right.

Only time will tell. Honestly, I find it quite baffling that the ECB has chosen to run a PR campaign against Bitcoin. In my opinion, Bitcoin is not necessarily an enemy of the euro. Researchers do not consider Bitcoin as a traditional means of payment: they see it rather as an investment. Similar to investing in gold, hoping that its value will increase over time. Researchers do not believe that Bitcoin works as money on a global scale. There is relatively high volatility with Bitcoin. One day the price is through the roof; the next he plummets. It is impossible to set prices that way.

Furthermore, it is not accepted enough. When you go out to dinner or refuel your car, you can pay in euros anywhere. Paying with Bitcoin is rarely an option. But a recent development could work in

cryptocurrencies

' favor. One of the main objectives of the European Central Bank is to avoid high inflation. And lately it hasn't been successful. Everything is getting more expensive. The value of money is falling. If this continues year after year, we will see that certain groups in society will face considerable challenges, as costs increase and wages, for example, do not. And I think the importance of Bitcoin will grow during this same period.

Very few companies in Europe accept Bitcoin. Critics say cryptocurrencies enable cybercrime. Buying goods and services in the conventional economy is very difficult using a cryptocurrency. Therefore, the main use case for purchasing goods and services using cryptocurrencies is, for the most part, an illegal activity. So whether it's something like ransomware or you know how to buy drugs or, you know, maybe you want to hire a hitman, then yeah, Bitcoin is great for that purpose. That's one of the reasons why most lawmakers don't want free trade in cryptocurrencies to happen. Large regulated crypto exchanges are meant to monitor Bitcoin transactions, thereby deterring criminals.

Customers' identities must be verified before they can purchase Bitcoin, and profits may be subject to taxes. Customers receive an account known as a "wallet." If you exchange euros for Bitcoin, for example, those assets end up in your wallet. This is the point to which the State has access. Where do I deposit euros on the crypto exchange and which wallet do the euros come from? And if the state gets the feeling that there is a scammer in the mix, it can approach the crypto exchange and say: Dear crypto exchange, does Mr. If yes, please share your wallet details.

We need to see what's happening. The Angels. In California, challenging the rules is the norm. Many here love cryptocurrencies because they align with their politics. Freedom and independence from the State are fundamental values ​​of Bitcoin. It plays with the contrasts between outsiders and the establishment, the rich and the poor, the new and the old. Hey girls, several big stocks on a global scale, not just in the US. Apparently there's drama at MATIC Two crazy things happened in crypto last night. Here is what you need to know. One of them could involve right in the FOMC update!

Boxing and Bitcoin have at least a lot in common, according to one of the world's most successful crypto influencers. Both are loaded with symbolism: to follow your own path, you will have to fight for it. It's about the underdog, having control of your actions, and using critical thinking. Change is on the way. But this romantic idea of ​​a crypto-utopia is crumbling. In 2022, several cryptocurrency apps and exchanges plunged users into financial ruin. The biggest scandal of all was the bankruptcy of F-T-X, the crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. He was accused of stealing billions from clients. In November 2023, a New York court convicted him.

He was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. I'm not discounting Sam. He did absolutely terrible things, very, very bad things. He lied, stole, practiced unethical behavior. But at the same time, we have bad actors in every industry and we will continue to have bad actors in the crypto sector. Unfortunately it is human nature. But to sit back and point it out and not pay attention to what some of the other bankers and other public servants are doing would be a disservice to the American people and the general people of the world. Before being convicted, Bankman-Fried lived here with his parents, on $250 million bail.

His situation is no different than what he faces in major bank failures. That collapse is like many other financial institution collapses we've seen over the years, right? In reality, we have an entity that relies heavily on leverage, making big bets and then covering those bets with more bets. And any time you have a debt-financed institution, you're going to run into some problems. In the United States, unregulated crypto exchanges dominated the market for a long time. No authority felt responsible for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or the number two cryptocurrency, Ethereum. There are around 8 million Bitcoin and Ethereum holders in Germany and "only", I say in quotes, there are 20,000 FTX victims.

This shows that regulation has had a positive effect in this case. I would argue that regulation is long overdue and necessary in the United States to prevent further harm. Many are tempted to make a lot of money with Bitcoin. Ultimately, I would say it all comes down to speculative investments and the view of Bitcoin holders that the value of Bitcoin will continue to rise. This suggests that we have an asset class that can be invested in andsomehow ensure a fantastic

future

. And of course you need to maintain a narrative about what it's for. That's why they say it could be useful for payment transactions.

You have the right to have your opinion. However, I have done quite well with Bitcoin, trading it, holding it, and using it to make transactions. And no one has really told me what to do with it. So, I mean, that's your opinion and I'm sorry you feel that way. But if you look at the banking system in the United States of America and all the bonds and traditional financial investments that we have, they're actually not doing too well either. There are more than 8,000 cryptocurrencies. They are offered on a wide variety of crypto exchanges, not to mention the countless unknown providers that advertise on social media.

The industry is a shark tank. It's largely been hijacked by opportunists, scammers, right? Scammers. I know that many, many people have lost enormous amounts of money in these markets. It's a classic type of bubble. Now, that's not to say that there isn't, right, some really amazing technology underneath this. Recently, there has been a change in America. Users of crypto exchanges are now required to provide almost as much personal information as they would need when opening a traditional bank account. Very far from the independence that cryptocurrencies promised. Effectively, we have recreated a kind of traditional banking system on these cryptocurrencies.

And I think most people who use them don't realize that they are reusing an institution that is very similar to the ones they think they have fled. WendyO wants to do business independently of banks. That is why it stays away from regulated crypto exchanges. She opts for the more technically advanced route of trading directly from person to person known as “peer to peer.” When she uses a third-party exchange like Binance, Coinbase or Gemini, she understands: this is a third party. They are holding onto your cryptocurrency. If that exchange goes down, you can lose your money. For most people, learning the jargon and inner workings of this complicated technology takes too much time.

Crypto exchanges are a much simpler option. But WendyO only trusts itself and Bitcoin in its original conception. Her Bitcoin is stored in her own wallet. There is no third party that is monitoring you, that is tracking you, that is taking your information and then selling it to someone else. Bitcoin doesn't do that. These third parties do it. WendyO is part of a tight-knit community of Bitcoin users who distrust banks. For them, the idea that this new monetary system should be regulated in the same way as the traditional banking system is out of the question. Our public servants, that's what I like to call them.

They're just a bunch of people with very expensive paper degrees or who come from really wonderful families or who have connections. They are just normal human beings. They don't necessarily know more than us. If you want to buy a house, if you want to rent, if you want to get an education, if you want to buy a car, food, whatever, you have to have a bank account. But will the banks stand by while people like WendyO try to disempower them and destroy their businesses? La DÈfense, a business district on the outskirts of Paris, is home to the headquarters of one of the oldest banks in the country.

SociÈtÈ GÈnÈrale's influence in the cryptocurrency business is already much greater than many Bitcoin users can imagine. Recently, SociÈtÈ GÈnÈrale has integrated a subsidiary called FORGE. CEO Jean-Marc Stenger heads a small team leading one of the banking world's most ambitious projects in the cryptocurrency space. We believe we are entering a new era of financial markets and money. We are on the verge of a very radical and profound change when it comes to blockchain, especially when it comes to how financial services are delivered to the customer. When it comes to these services, a fundamental revolution is on the horizon.

SociÈtÈ GÈnÈrale has long been working to secure its position at the forefront of this revolution. It is allowed to trade cryptocurrencies, offer wallets and supports authorities regulating cryptocurrency traders. The French bank wants to make a lot of money by leveraging blockchain technology for stock trading. Financial institutions or companies will only issue shares or bonds digitally. They will only exist in digital form on the blockchain. And that's what our customers are interested in: the ability to be faster, safer and cheaper. In the future, the sale of shares would not be limited to the stock market.

Instead, they would be programmed on a blockchain and traded from there. In the business world, these are known as "smart contracts." And powerful financial players have adopted this new business model. New York is home to the largest stock exchange in the world. This is where great deals are closed. Until now, the field was clearly divided. Banks, brokers, and hedge fund traders speculated on virtually anything that could generate profits. Cryptocurrencies are sold outside the realm of Wall Street. But in early 2024, US authorities allowed Bitcoin ETFs to trade on stock exchanges for the first time. If you had all the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn't accept it, because what would I do with it?

I'll have to sell it to you one way or another. It's not going to do anything. The apartments are going to produce income and the farms are going to produce food. Stock market tycoon Warren Buffett sees no intrinsic value in Bitcoin, so why should he speculate on it? Ultimately, this is a series of numbers that offer no immediate benefit. Many traditional financial managers, not just in New York, see this as their biggest flaw. But that attitude is gradually changing. Jordi Visser is the president of a hedge fund that manages more than 4 billion dollars. He considers himself a pioneer and is very interested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

No one, no one can argue with the fact that the concept of blockchain is a great idea as a technology, if we can use it the way we hope it will be an argument that people can debate. But I think it will certainly be here and I think it's something we need. So I see it as the birthplace of an innovation that will help us bring more authenticity to a world that has values ​​on assets that are really difficult to prove are worth what they are. Many of Jordi Visser's colleagues advise against investing in Bitcoin due to the dramatic fluctuations in its value.

But, surprisingly, evaluations by his financial advisors tell a different story. Bitcoin's volatility has been decreasing. Last year when people talk about Bitcoin volatility, I forget the final numbers, but American tech stocks fell almost as much as Amazon fell almost as much as Bitcoin last year. So what is the difference between people who have a large weight in Amazon that decreased significantly and in Bitcoin? I think we've reached the point where volatility has been declining for years. It will continue to decline as it becomes a more accepted asset class. In 2022, the value of Bitcoin fell by 60 percent, to around 15,500 euros.

In the same period, Amazon was down 47 percent. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 large U.S. companies, fell 9 percent. In 2023, the value of Bitcoin recovered and ranged between 20 and 30 thousand euros. Leading experts from the world's financial centers at least agree on one thing: the technology behind Bitcoin is ingenious. And it is on its way to becoming an investment that generates returns. Bitcoin looks a lot like gold. And what I mean by this is that it is a terrible medium of exchange, but it is a wonderful store of value. And I think we will continue to see Bitcoin.

Plattsburgh is a small town in New York, near the Canadian border. Twenty thousand residents, harsh winters, and no major tourist attractions unless you count this building as a former discount store. In 2018, it became one of the largest Bitcoin mining operations in the world. Bitcoin is still mined here today. The somewhat dilapidated building houses thousands of computers. All day long, your sole purpose is to crack codes. The ideal is every 10 minutes. Each block they decipher is worth 6.25 Bitcoin. Validating each block is so complex that a single computer would take a long time. That's why countless companies installed thousands of computers to increase their odds.

It's a continuous race: whoever cracks the code the fastest will get the reward. In 2018, miners generated 1,800 Bitcoins per day. But the problem is that all these computers that constantly mine Bitcoin consume enormous amounts of electricity. When Bitcoin's price was highest, its worldwide electricity consumption was estimated to be equivalent to that of the Netherlands. And in times of climate change and energy shortages, that's simply not good for something whose value to society is unclear. "Bitcoin is so bad for the environment, it's so dangerous." Well, so is printing money. So is driving a car. So is the lighting here.

This is how you and I are breathing, existing. Yes. Bitcoin leaves a small carbon footprint, but so do many of these other things. Is the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining overblown or is it a serious concern? Plattsburgh may provide some answers. On a global scale, electricity here is extremely cheap. It comes from a hydroelectric plant on the Niagara River. That was what attracted the Coinmint company to set up its massive mining operation in the first place. The new company promised jobs and increased tax revenue. But gradually, people realized that the reality of business impact was very different.

It's basically computers, that's all I know about it. I don't like it, it's an ugly place. I can't go in there and buy. They use a lot of electricity. It has raised our place in electricity and they didn't say that is the reason, but it is the talk and it has also caused the family dollar here, it used to be there and it was without heat all winter because of the operation in the back that they did. I always had my doors open because the machines that work with Bitcoin, you know, have to work constantly to produce the cryptocurrency.

When Coinmint set up shop, Colin Read became mayor of Plattsburgh. He teaches banking and sustainability at the state university. He was dismayed to learn that some days this building consumed a third of all the electricity in his city of 20,000 people. These machines run between 1500 and 3000 watts, very similar to a portable heater, generally the same amount of heat. So to control that heat, if you have, you know, three to 10,000 machines like that in this room, you need to draw in a lot of cold air and blow out a lot of hot air. So any Bitcoin mining operation is going to have a lot of holes in the wall, a lot of holes in the ceiling.

Fans everywhere. In the summer they generate a lot of noise because those fans really need to run continuously when it's hot. The Bitcoin mining operation turned out to be a massive disruption for Plattsburgh residents. The cheap electricity supply generated by the Niagara River was not enough. The price of electricity suddenly skyrocketed. For local businesses like this paper mill, production became unsustainable. Colin Read then forced the Bitcoin mining company to pay for the additional electricity itself. The company responded with a public relations campaign. I've seen a lot of pictures of very sophisticated people with hundreds of millions of dollars of Wall Street venture capital behind them, you know, Italian shoes and suits and all that kind of stuff.

They have a business association that helps them present topics of conversation when they visit the communities. After all, the business has enormous potential. Colin Read estimated that the Puerto Rico-based company earned up to $50 million a month at the beginning of its operations. Plattsburgh, a low-income city, did not receive a dime. If they make tens of millions of dollars in profits every month, there is bound to be a lot of flow back into the community. But these are Bitcoin earnings that can essentially be cashed out anywhere. There is no reason to believe, for any reason, that this money will remain in the community.

In the end, Plattsburgh did not raise the promised taxes and no jobs were created. Instead, for a time, residents had to pay expensive electricity bills. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin mining company moved many of its computers to the next city, where electricity costs were lower. Colin Read is no longer mayor of Plattsburgh. He wrote a book about cryptocurrencies. At first he was excited about blockchain technology, but he became disillusioned. If you look at who controls the wealth of Bitcoin, it's the big corporations, the billionaires, the billionaires as capitalists.risk, Wall Street, the entire entities that Bitcoin and Satoshi were designed to remove from the equation, now dominate the market.

Large companies are participating where digital money is replacing cash. Especially American companies are at the forefront, with GooglePay, ApplePay and PayPal. European monetary authorities face pressure from two sides: from Bitcoin and from large private companies based in the United States. That is why the European Central Bank is focusing its attention on developing the "digital euro." We believe that the digital euro should also be there to continue limiting the market power of these global companies in the same way it works with cash. We need to guarantee Europe's strategic independence. So the ECB also wants to get into the digital money business.

The digital euro, however, would be very different from the decentralized Bitcoin. This is because, in theory, every citizen transaction could be monitored by the ECB. The only reason they want to use blockchain technology, the only reason they want to create CBDCs, is because they want to monitor people. They want to be in control. They want to implement credit scoring. They want people to do exactly what they are told and instill fear that if they don't do what I say, I will have access to their money. We have no interest in controlling people. When designing the digital euro, we want us to not receive personal data in the Eurosystem and instead have anonymous transactions on our books.

We don't want to know who has a particular account or who that person is. There is deep distrust on both sides. Banks and states fear that a decentralized currency without state oversight will lead to crime and chaos. Bitcoin users believe that the State and banks want control. If you believe in courts and laws, you shouldn't worry too much about this possible visibility. If you have little faith in the courts and laws, then yes, maybe this is something to worry about. El Zonte has had the nickname "Bitcoin Beach" for a while now. But in reality, all of El Salvador has become a kind of test case for Bitcoin.

Here human rights are not guaranteed and the judiciary has very little power. In 2021, it became the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, a move spearheaded by populist President Nayib Bukele. This was this unique opportunity for them. They looked at this like wow, how else could we literally overnight. El Salvador has been known all over the world, it will be in all these articles? Get people to change the narrative that even if people talk negatively, they are talking about money and technology instead of gangs and murder. The beginning of the Bitcoin era in El Salvador was celebrated with great fanfare.

Thousands of cryptocurrency enthusiasts applauded their rock star leader. Nayib Bukele projected himself as a cross between a baseball-cap-wearing rapper and a savior. And he made his position on Bitcoin clear. This is not a good, interesting or pleasant idea. This is the evolution of humanity. So let's go there. You can't stop evolution. This "evolution" was strongly promoted in El Salvador. Every citizen who downloaded Chivo, the state-run Bitcoin wallet app, received $30 worth of Bitcoin as a gift. A controversial way to win over people. Maybe he understood Bitcoin, maybe he's crazy, maybe he's running an experiment, we just don't know.

It could have been any country. Honestly, for me it is not relevant that it is El Salvador. The important thing is that a country somewhere in the world has dared to take this step, and I am pretty sure that other countries will follow, even if it takes a few more years. The reality is that there are only a few stores in the capital of El Salvador that actually accept Bitcoin. Especially after its value fell at the end of 2022. Most people use the dollar. Can you pay in Bitcoin? No, here no. Too hard? I never tried it.

Not at the moment, no one is coming to explain how it works. Unfortunately, my children's school or my son's university does not accept Bitcoin payments. According to a survey, 70 percent of the population of El Salvador distrusts the new legal tender. Many companies that accept Bitcoin immediately exchange it for dollars. But the Bitcoin community abroad remains enthusiastic. I love what you're doing because by making Bitcoin legal tender, you're essentially taking back power for your country and saying to everyone in the world: This is what we're doing. And I'm trying to improve the quality of life of my people as best I can.

In reality, Bukele wants to make his country independent from the influence of foreign institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. If Salvadorans buy Bitcoin without the state-run Chivo app, their assets would be safe from the influence of their own government. Let's imagine that we live in a country with unstable institutions and I have 5,000 monetary units in my account, not necessarily in euros. The state doesn't like it. So what does it do? It could potentially take my money. In other words, a type of expropriation or confiscation is possible if the value is determined from outside, by a State, a banking system, a government or a central bank.

But this is not possible with Bitcoin. El Salvador has become a place of pilgrimage for Bitcoin believers. There are even plans to build a "Bitcoin City." Traders, crypto miners and entrepreneurs would live and work together there. The president's cousin is trying to attract investors and startups. Until now, a huge crypto city at the foot of a volcano remains a pipe dream. You will get zero percent income taxes, zero percent capital gains, property taxes, payroll taxes, municipal taxes and zero percent for CO2 emissions. The construction of this new financial center would cost approximately one billion dollars in one of the countries.

The poorest countries in the world, where the average annual income is about 4,000 euros, Nayib Bukele has support and financing from abroad. I am fully convinced that sooner or later there will be Bitcoin cities that want to participate. This community will pack its bags and suddenly start moving to El Salvador. It's a bit like religions of the past, where believers met in monasteries or other places and lived and did things together. Money is based on trust and belief. Cryptocurrencies have added a new dimension to the way we think about money. El Salvador reflects the fear and hope surrounding Bitcoin.

But cryptocurrencies have already changed the world. And in all likelihood, it's just the beginning.