Evolving Money

Coinbase, Bloomberg Media Studios•evolving-money.simplecast.com

Is cryptocurrency the next logical evolution of the monetary system? To explore whether we’re at an inflection point, we’ll look back at moments in the history of money when how we paid for things and stored value long-term changed for the better.

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Episodes

The Regulation Revolution

Financial innovation often outpaces regulators’ ability to keep up. This was the case in the 1700s, when the Irish satirist Jonathan Swift decided to give away no-interest, peer-to-peer loans which immediately bore fruit, spawned imitators, and provided liquidity to parts of Ireland where there had been none. Despite these benefits, it took more than a hundred years for Parliament to formalize the network that had sprung up. A similar phenomenon has happened recently in the U.S., where crypto’s ...

Feb 18, 2025•20 min•Ep. 8

Building Bridges with Bitcoin

Oftentimes, even a revolutionary technological advancement is only the beginning of something bigger. Such was the case in the early 2000s, when the Royal Bank of Scotland released a mobile-banking app that precipitated not only the age of mobile banking, but a proliferation of other apps designed to give people easier access to and control over their money. The same phenomenon has happened since the Bitcoin whitepaper appeared: Beginning with a single game-changer, Bitcoin, the crypto space has...

Jan 23, 2025•19 min•Ep. 7

A Faster, Cheaper Way to Pay

For generations, credit cards have set the speed limit for digital payments made by consumers and businesses around the world. From metal “charge plates” used to run up a tab at a department store; to the Diner’s Club card, which created a groundbreaking, cross-business credit network for everyday purchases; to the rise of digital payments connecting all corners of the world… nothing has felt more frictionless than paying with credit. Until now. Because stablecoins (cryptocurrencies that are peg...

Jan 09, 2025•16 min•Ep. 6

Rebuilding the Creator Economy

For centuries, creators have given up a big share of their earnings for a chance to reach audiences. In 18th century England, authors’ desires to break free of censorship and exercise the power of the written word led to the growth of modern copyright law, a key pillar of the creator economy. But to this day, publishers and distributors of content have enormous power over how creators make money and grow with their audiences. What if that didn’t have to be the case? What if, by “going onchain” t...

Dec 17, 2024•18 min•Ep. 5

Money Without Borders

Throughout history, financial markets have struggled with the issue of borders. Borders create friction, add cost and cause headaches for anyone who wants to spend money across them. On top of that, various national currencies can be wildly unstable. Could a borderless, global currency ease friction and enhance financial inclusion and stability around the world? Cryptocurrencies offer an intriguing possible solution to money’s border problem. And a particular kind of cryptocurrency, called stabl...

Jun 18, 2024•21 min•Ep. 4

The Blockchain Revolution

The costs of the paper check system – both in time and money – have been with us for centuries. But there’s a new technology called blockchain that looks as though it could provide a solution, with an online ledger that’s universally accessible and completely transparent. Blockchain also can't be hacked or altered and costs next to nothing. That may sound too good to be true, but a look back at how the paper check system was improved by the rise of digital money demonstrates that what sounds lik...

Jun 06, 2024•19 min•Ep. 3

Birth of a New Asset Class

Why did Bitcoin move from a currency to an investable asset in just 15 years of existence? It was because of mainstream adoption by retail investors who believed there was money to be made. But behind that mania for all things crypto was a much more serious undertaking – the birth of a new asset class. Investors came to understand that there was a market for crypto, and that it behaved differently from other assets in their portfolios. It’s not the first time the monetary system has absorbed a n...

May 30, 2024•15 min•Ep. 2

In Money We Trust

The history of money is riddled with crises, followed by innovation that transforms the monetary system. In 17th century England, a coinage crisis triggered a loss in trust in the money’s value. To restore that trust, Goldsmiths stepped in as intermediaries—and became England’s unlikely first bankers. Today, transferring money requires a plethora of intermediaries to verify transactions in a system that’s full of friction. Enter the next innovation: Bitcoin. Can it remove friction from the syste...

May 23, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1

Introducing: Evolving Money

Is cryptocurrency the next logical evolution of the monetary system? In Evolving Money, to explore whether we’re at an inflection point, we’ll look back at moments in the history of money when how we paid for things and stored value long-term changed for the better.

May 06, 2024•2 min

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