The narrative of
transitioning from fiat to crypto is old news. But, something has changed
during the last couple of years.
Once envisioned as
a grassroots revolution led by libertarian crusaders, it’s becoming
increasingly apparent that the primary evangelists driving this shift will be
governments and financial powerhouses.
Both public and
private sector giants are not just embracing blockchain technology; they’re
actively issuing tokens and crypto-pegged financial vehicles.
Picture a
pyramid—no pun intended—where the foundational layers are being replaced by
on-chain components, but the basic structure remains largely unchanged.
At the base of
this new paradigm are local Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), poised to
become the retail medium of exchange. Countries around the world, are not just
working on CBDC frameworks but have already achieved substantial citizen
adoption in some cases (like China and India).
Climbing up a
notch, we find corporate coins designed to fuel the retail digital
economy—think e-commerce, content monetization, and small cross-border
payments. PayPal’s recent PYUSD token launch, WorldCoin’s rapidly growing
orb-scanning initiative, and whispers of a forthcoming coin from X (formerly
Twitter), all exemplify this trend.
Next up is the
institutional tier, where once-utopian visions of Bitcoin
