Saad Ullah
Sharing Thoughts
The statement comes from a videoshared on YouTube where the co-founder of Microsoft discusses about digital currencies, poverty and how it can be elevated through the use of cryptocurrencies. Mr.Gates said that crypto services can lower the cost of transactions by up to 90% and with its ease of service, it allows poor people without access to financial services to enter with minimal resources. For him, this is not a question that should be discussed or asked but rather be done, “with more than two and a half billion people not able to get at formal financial services, the opportunity compels us to do it.”
The Microsoft co-founder said that poverty does not mean people are without assets. They possess intelligence, savings and their labor. The only problem is that the poor do not have access to financial tools that they may use to increase their capital and elevate their conditions. Traditional cash based economy is inefficient and geared towards people with more capital. As such, the poverty ridden people cannot take risks, invest or secure capital to work.
Breakthroughs And Priorities
Bill Gates spoke highly of cryptocurrencies, especially the design of deflation, where limited tokens meant increase in asset value, rather than decreasing due to inflation, “Another breakthrough innovation, including the poorest, in a financial system that increases instead of limiting the value of their assets, transforming the underlined economics and financial services through digital currency will help those who live in poverty directly. It will also support a host of other development activities, including health and agriculture.”
He also talked about what steps were needed to ensure that crypto adoption for the poor be made possible successfully, “I see two priorities for the immediate future. First, we need to drive the policy changes to make sure the poor can get engaged at this level and second, we need a measurement system that tracks the progress towards drawing people in not just have accounts, but to really benefit from financial activity.”
Saad Ullah
