Can a country survive without physical currency?

[bayu7adi]

There's a lot of talk here about digitizing currency, to blockchain technology making cryptography possible... so the challenge is, if a country doesn't adopt physical currency or traditional currency, can it survive from an economic perspective?

Is digitizing money really impossible? Or is it possible to do it in a comprehensive way?

[PrivateKayla]

We're on our way there. These days, people pay using apps or transfer money online. I bet the richest people in the world have never seen their entire wealth physically. A line from a movie I watched before said something like money is now 1s and 0s. Currency depends on the value "assigned" to it. There were times when cowrie shells served as money. Some of the challenges in going entirely digital are: not everyone in the world has access to devices and the internet; cybersecurity; and regulations that would make sure economic stability and inclusivity. 

[Hatchy]

There's a lot of talk here about digitizing currency, to blockchain technology making cryptography possible... so the challenge is, if a country doesn't adopt physical currency or traditional currency, can it survive from an economic perspective?

Is digitizing money really impossible? Or is it possible to do it in a comprehensive way?

The world is advancing, digitality is taking over everything that's used to have a physical form.. learning has become digital. Money has become digital.. being digital doesn't change the initial use case of a subject and in this case, money or physical currency. We still need physical fiat to exist and to keep, I don't think there's any way it can be totally removed. Though cryptocurrency is the new face of money and even a better version of it, it still won't be able to eliminate fiat totally.

[bisdak40]

There's a lot of talk here about digitizing currency, to blockchain technology making cryptography possible... so the challenge is, if a country doesn't adopt physical currency or traditional currency, can it survive from an economic perspective?

Is digitizing money really impossible? Or is it possible to do it in a comprehensive way?

The world is advancing, digitality is taking over everything that's used to have a physical form.. learning has become digital. Money has become digital.. being digital doesn't change the initial use case of a subject and in this case, money or physical currency. We still need physical fiat to exist and to keep, I don't think there's any way it can be totally removed. Though cryptocurrency is the new face of money and even a better version of it, it still won't be able to eliminate fiat totally.

I agree that's why we physical currency cannot be replaced with digital currency because physical money feels real and safe in a way that digital money doesn’t and not all people can use digital currency

[target]

It's going to have challenging to make this adoption of digital currency so abruptly which is why the government are just doing it gradually.

I remember there are already digital cash in my country even before Bitcoin. It's however just used by few people and companies accepting it as reward system when a customer buys their product. Past 20 years it's seem like not all are still accepting digital cash.

But there is certainly more adoption to It, we can already see local store accepting this digital currency.

[albon]

This may be complicated in many countries because there are many countries in the world that still do not have enough devices and internet access. Moreover, they are lagging behind due to the lack of devices that ensure cyber security and regulations. Not all countries are economically developed so this sudden adoption of digital currency cannot be taken lightly. But with the change of era many countries governments are thinking about these things so gradually they can achieve it. Meanwhile, bitcoin is still not legalized in many countries due to which they are not able to trade freely with it.

[dkbit98]

In theory yes, but it would be a nightmare scenario for citizens of that country if only centralized digital currency was used.
Total surveillance, power outage, rural areas are just some of the issues that could collapse the whole economy of a country.
People should never accept system without any physical currency.

[Agbe]

There's a lot of talk here about digitizing currency, to blockchain technology making cryptography possible... so the challenge is, if a country doesn't adopt physical currency or traditional currency, can it survive from an economic perspective?

I personally think that an country can survive without physical cash as far as they have agreed and back it up with the laws of the land so economically speaking I don't personally see any thing wrong with it beside many countries in the world is even going cashless and doing more of online transactions than physical cash so it left for the country to agree but the problem with this is that one of the qualities of an independent country is their currency so it will be difficult for a sovereign country not to have and use a physical currency of their own than using online currency

[Rruchi man]

Is digitizing money really impossible? Or is it possible to do it in a comprehensive way?

Nothing is really impossible if the facilities are in place to make it work. I feel it is possible for digitization to take full effect, but not immediately because we are still in a mix between the analog world and the digital world. If everything gets digital and we phase into a world where even the old have no problem with technology and understanding it, then physical currency and its existence can become a thing of the past.

[libert19]

Well, we have this UPI system here in India, I find myself making my most of my transactions using it — it's convenient, no fuss of count/change, all transactions are automatically recorded in bank app which is good for keeping track of spends.

Despite that, I'd still prefer mix of physical and digital currency because at times electricity or Internet goes puff for days during the times of natural disasters, physical cash can come handy then.

[Baofeng]

There's a lot of talk here about digitizing currency, to blockchain technology making cryptography possible... so the challenge is, if a country doesn't adopt physical currency or traditional currency, can it survive from an economic perspective?

Is digitizing money really impossible? Or is it possible to do it in a comprehensive way?

Even from a advance country in Europe, they still needed that fiat system to go and move on their economy. Maybe not store still digitizes or accept cc or crypto in general.

I've seen some countries in Europe wherein there is like a street food, cash is still the king.

So even if we are that advance, I do not that that fiat will be gone, the population and government still needs it.

[bitterguy28]

Even from a advance country in Europe, they still needed that fiat system to go and move on their economy. Maybe not store still digitizes or accept cc or crypto in general.

I've seen some countries in Europe wherein there is like a street food, cash is still the king.

So even if we are that advance, I do not that that fiat will be gone, the population and government still needs it.

fiat and paper money are different things

you can have digitized fiat which we do we have digital wallets which we can use to pay with even in street vendors however there are still some who do not know how to set up these digital wallets let alone use it so it may be difficult to implement but I actually think it can happen

[Crwth]

I believe it is possible to know that many countries, especially the modern ones, the top search countries, are into digitizing everything. When I’ve been to some of them, they are really advocating no cash stuff.

I don’t think it will be 0% cash, but it will just keep on increasing with the digital approach.

[Stompix]

Sweden has done so before crypto, cash transactions have declined to less than 7%, withdrawals from ATMs have decreased by 60% in 5 years, and what is more interesting is that it's actually automated cash deposits that have been increasing, so rather than using cash more and more people use ATMs to deposit money into their online accounts.

The economy can definitely survive without cash, but of course that's only for a country that can offer an alternative, no way a 3rd world country would be able to deal with it when it can't properly provide power.

[Jackezra0]

A country could potentially survive economically without physical or traditional currency by fully adopting digital money, leveraging blockchain and cryptography for security. However, success would depend on comprehensive infrastructure, universal access to digital tools, and strong regulations to prevent fraud and ensure stability. While digitizing money is possible, challenges like digital inclusion, privacy concerns, and resistance to change must be addressed for it to be practical and sustainable on a national scale.