Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Bitcoin has given us definitive proof that money operates on public trust, whether rational or irrational. Quite a few people realized this strange fact and issued coins that are based on thin air but are supported on slick, smart, sweeping campaigns, enriching the issuer. The extended realization from this trust-centered money is that agencies that own something of value can use it to substantiate digital coins. They can also rely on an aggressive campaign to generate demand.
Meanwhile, the Catholic church just got itself a new, modern-day, American leader who is expected to chart his own course and navigate the Holy See to find its place in cyberspace. We have the technology to translate the deeply rooted trust in the Vatican into stable, tradeable digital money that can be used for payment any place dollars are used.
The market value of the assets held by the Vatican rivals the annual budget of small-to- medium size countries. What is more, the Vatican’s holdings include priceless, irreplaceable works of art that reflect the historic track of Western civilization. These are appreciated by many more than the 1.4 billion Catholics who treat the Pope as standing in for the son of God.
The Vatican also has a history of selling signed statements (indulgences). The modern version of this is to issue Vatican holding certificates that identify their owners as holding a specified fraction of the monetary value of the assets claimed by the Catholic Church. Issued in limited amounts, the value of these holding certificates will rise fast (it’s very nice to hold a piece of something Michaelangelo chiseled).
As the price of these certificates soars, the Vatican could sell more of them at a higher price. The money collected from the sale of Vatican holding certificates would be issued as digital money (Pope coins) redeemable by any agency that provides aid to dejected immigrants, supports impoverished communities, and is helpful to any other natural constituency of the Vatican. Recipients would be provided with a simple cellular payphone that would house all their money. No need for a bank account, which most of these customers don’t have.
Imagine an impoverished community holding ground-level digital payphones with which they can pay and get paid in solid U.S. dollars. What happens next? Capitalism kicks in. Providers will show up simply because they will get paid. Today, rich activists like Bill Gates offer free health care to hard-hit, impoverished communities in Africa. It is wiser to load that money into recipients’ cellphones and let market forces kick in. Digital coins like BitMint can be restricted to use in support of services to needy communities.
These Pope coins would be stable, and could be readily redeemed at face value by anyone who received them for delivering qualified merchandise or approved services to the target communities helped by the Vatican. The Vatican’s status as a high-prestige, global institution would ensure that local authorities would not prevent free trade with Pope coins.
The new Pope is on record advocating for activism to alleviate the suffering of impoverished global migrants. Would he use his elevated status to lead the church to new places? Inertia is a powerful force in every religion, yet religious leaders enjoying such high status as that of the Pope can steer their camp to explore new territories.
Jesus advised those who wished to follow him to sell their possessions and give to the poor. Pope Leo XIV is rising to the helm when digital-money technology allows him to follow his master to the letter and in the spirit.
—Gideon Samid gideon@bitmint.com
