Dear Readers,
The world we live in today is highly financialized. Banks and fintechs are involved in almost every aspect of our lives, from the payment services we use to buy our groceries to the loans we take out for our business, homes, cars, and more. Our reliance on financial services and the companies that offer them has become so complete that even industries that typically don’t deal in finance, like social media, are beginning to incorporate financial offerings into their products (e.g., Libra/Diem).
The majority of banks, investment firms, and insurance companies that we build our financial relationships with have had decades, if not longer, to perfect their craft. It’s rather surprising then that they’re all so bad at it. Users and account holders are charged exorbitantly high fees and receive extremely low returns for their money. Let’s not forget as well that banks and hedge funds, among others, contributed to leading the world into one of the worst recessions in history over a decade ago. While these companies surely shoulder the bulk of the blame for their poor performance, it’s not all their fault. After all, most of their customer-facing products and services are over-regulated to the point of stifling innovation and they run on top of legacy systems, like the Automated Clearing House Network, that are decades old.
Out of the ashes of the aforementioned Great Recession arose a brand new financial system. Bitcoin provides a better way for individuals and companies to protect their earnings and conduct their financial business. As a result, an entirely new group of companies, products, and services are being built. There is no doubt that they won’t all make the cut. However, those who come out on top will have the opportunity to completely revolutionize the way humanity interacts with its money and the services built with it.
