Yeah, maybe it’s too simplistic to say actual dollars are made of paper. Point is, the electronic dollars we’re talking about are just numbers on a ledger, which is also what a cryptocurrency is. So when you ask
I’m not sure what you see as the alternative approach. Is the idea that Facebook would keep a centralized ledger of everyone’s funds, like Paypal does? I suppose they could, but to be honest it’s a lot of unnecessary overhead if you’re just trying to let people do peer-to-peer transactions - Paypal is effectively running a major consumer bank. It’s pretty possible that a cryptocurrency is the best tool for what Facebook is trying to accomplish with Whatsapp.
I know we’ve settled on a popular consensus that “cryptocurrency is bullshit”, and that’s probably the best reflex to have in general. But it won’t always be the case, and I think we should keep this in mind. The world where Facebook creates a successful currency is actually pretty nightmarish and worth worrying about rather than writing off as impossible.
