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money has/had a value.
Does anyone here remember gold and silver certifi-
cates? In my life I have seen the evolution go from
cash in my front pocket to cash in my wallet where I
also kept my credit cards. Today I have a picture of my
credit cards in my virtual wallet in my phone, and I
don't need to go out to buy anything. Thank you, Ama-
zon.
There was a study done many years ago where a group
of people were asked, "If you were five miles from
home and realized that you forgot your wallet, would
you turn around to get it or would you live without it?"
About 90 percent of the people said they wouldn't turn
around to retrieve their wallet.
The same group of people was asked, "If you were five
miles from home and you realized that you forgot your
cell phone, would you turn around to get it or would
you live without it?" About 90 percent of the people
said they would go back to get their phone.
Money allows people all over the world to trade goods
and services indirectly; it helps communicate to oth-
ers what you (or I) are worth. Until every person on
the planet can have one (a coin of some sorts) in your
pocket, purse, wallet, virtual wallet, or the payment
chip implanted in your fingertip, money as we know it
today will not be replaced.
Yesterday I had a million dollars in the bank, and I still
do today. Six months ago I had 100 bitcoins, and I was
worth $6.4 million, and today I am worth $2.9 million.
But I still have my million dollars cash in the bank, and
it is still worth a million dollars. I own stock in various
companies, but I can't use that stock to buy a car like I
can with bitcoin. That's the difference. I must sell the
stock and convert it into cash to buy something, versus
owning a bitcoin that can be used to make a purchase.
Clinton Baller
PayNet Merchant Services Inc
Question 1: No, yes and yes. We're a Prime Time host,
and Crypto isn't ready for a spot in our lineup.
Question 2: Nothing yet, and we'll leave it to those
higher in the food chain to decide.
Question 3: I would expect merchants and their
customers to be skeptical, and education to be key. If
Wells, BofA and Chase bring it into the mainstream,
we'd try it.
Question 4: No, but my 65-year-old (until recently
cataracted) vision is limited in this regard.
Question 5: If they are cashless, and they engage, then
of course they will.
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