12th March 2025 Digital Bytes
What will be the next world reserve currency? - the future of global reserve currencies may shift from the US dollar's century-long dominance to a multipolar system. Historical transitions (e.g. the pound sterling's decline and the dollar's rise) offer insights into this evolution and emerging contenders, such as the euro, yuan and gold, highlight economic diversification and technological innovation's role. Bitcoin's decentralised nature appeals as a hedge against inflation, make it another possible contender. By 2050, a decentralised, resilient financial system may redefine global monetary dynamics and stability - as well as what we mean to be the world’s reserve currency.
Wealth creation democratised using digital assets - Fractional ownership, powered by blockchain technology, is revolutionising wealth creation by enabling smaller investors to access traditionally exclusive asset classes such as private equity, real estate, fine art, and intellectual property. Tokenisation divides high-value assets into tradeable digital shares, enhancing liquidity, transparency, and global accessibility. This shift democratises investment opportunities, reduces entry barriers, and fosters portfolio diversification. However, challenges remain, including regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity risks, and the need for robust secondary markets.
The pros and cons of AI-powered bots in payments and transactions (Part 1) - AI-powered bots are revolutionising payments by enabling instant, automated and secure transactions, integrating with blockchain and stablecoins to optimise financial operations. JP Morgan’s programmable payments and the report from Visa that 90% of stablecoin transactions are bot-driven, both highlight AI’s dominance in the space. But, whilst this improves efficiency and fraud detection, it raises concerns about market manipulation, regulatory oversight and real user adoption. With tokenised assets projected to hit $2 trillion by 2030, AI-driven payments are set to reshape finance. But can banks and regulators keep up?
Programmable bank accounts: unlocking the future of finance with smart contracts - programmable bank accounts integrate smart contracts with traditional banking, so enabling automated, rule-based transactions without manual intervention. They enhance efficiency, transparency and security in financial operations by allowing pre-authorised payments, escrow management and multi-signature approvals. Smart contracts execute transactions based on predefined conditions, reducing friction in areas such as supply chain finance, cross-border payments and subscription management. By keeping programmable logic separate from banking infrastructure, compliance and innovation can coexist, paving the way for fully programmable digital money and greater financial automation.