Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin has taken to the X social media network to stress that Ethereum should stay resilient and private in order to be able to continue competing with cash.
Buterin pointed to a recent report, which shows that Nordic countries are currently pivoting back to cash due to fragility in centralized digital payments.
It is worth noting that Norway and Sweden spearheaded the futuristic push toward cashless societies. Cash usage saw a substantial decline in Sweden in the 2010s. In the early 2020s, only a very small percentage of purchases were made with cash due to apps like Swish gaining widespread adoption. Sweden was expected to become completely cashless by 2025.
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This was supposed to be the model for the future of finance. However, the Swedes now have second thoughts about cash, with the authorities even urging citizens to use cash more frequently for civil defense purposes. Popular payment apps, for instance, can become inaccessible in the case of cyberattacks.
In Norway, which was also at the forefront of the cashless revolution, retailers can be fined if they do not accept cash.
Now that the two Nordic countries have recognized cash as the necessary backup, Buterin believes that Ethereum has to be private and resilient enough in order to be able to play the same role.
Centralized digital payment systems clearly remain vulnerable, and it is challenging even for the most progressive and technologically advanced societies to go truly cashless. That said, it remains to be seen whether crypto can actually act as an alternative to cash.