As shown by the ongoing rise of a galaxy of different cryptocurrencies that coexist alongside fiat-based currencies distributed by governments, money isn’t what it used to be. Of course, when it comes to buying goods and services in the real world, there’s still no substitute for cold hard cash, so your main medium of value exchange isn’t going away.
But there’s ample reason to believe that in the near future, just a few years from now, you’ll have a much more expansive idea of what money really is compared to how you think about it today. Let’s discuss three of the cryptocurrencies that are emblematic of these changes so that you’ll be ready to think ahead of the curve.
With Bitcoin‘s (CRYPTO: BTC) reputation for being “digital gold” cementing rapidly, it’s the perfect example of how the idea of money as a form of value storage is changing to be more fluid and less pinned down to physical objects.
Most people would point to physical gold as a store of value. Aside from being shiny, rare, and taking effort to mine and refine, as a metal it’s useful in many applications, including for producing important items like smartphones as well as for more frivolous ones like jewelry. It also has a very long history as being considered valuable across many different cultures and eras, hence its reputation for preserving purchasing power over time.
The global market cap for gold, at the prevailing market price of around $2,751 per ounce, is roughly $18.4 trillion. Right now, Bitcoin’s market cap is close to $2.1 trillion.
The market cap of Bitcoin will probably flip with gold at some point, and it might grow to be far larger. That doesn’t mean gold is going to become worthless. It just means that Bitcoin’s higher convenience as a store of value is going to cause it to be in higher demand.
The takeaway here isn’t to sell gold. It’s to buy Bitcoin, as eventually it’ll grow more slowly, like the price of gold, and store value for longer-term purposes rather than increasing it like a more typical portfolio investment.
Solana(CRYPTO: SOL) also has a lot to teach investors about what money is becoming. The chain is useful for everything from decentralized finance (DeFi) to minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs), speculating on meme coins, and interacting with other blockchains via bridging services.
So, it’s useful as a medium of transfer between parties, a medium of value storage, and it can also be expended directly to gain utility in various ways. Those features are mostly shared with those of traditional currencies, especially gold. But there’s more than that.
By investing in meme coins, Solana holders send a signal to the market regarding which ideas (memes) they think are going to be more valuable — more widespread and accepted — in the future. This information, at least so far, is mostly frivolous, but it doesn’t mean that it will always be.
Furthermore, holders can also use Solana’s meme coins to signal their own identity and affiliations to others; after all, people probably don’t want to invest in meme coins that represent values that clash with their own. That’s an entirely new addition to the concept of what money is, and it’s starting to blossom right now.
Buying Solana is a decent way to get some upside exposure from this trend.
Dogecoin(CRYPTO: DOGE) is the final example that describes a possible future of money. While on a superficial level Dogecoin is simply the first meme coin to make it big, there are profound implications to its continued survival.
For most people, there’s not much that’s inherently fun about holding dollar bills in your wallet or cash in your investment account. Most of the fun value of money stems from its ability to deliver you things and experiences that you enjoy. And while it can feel fun to get a big return on a speculative investment, more people are apt to feel nauseated by volatility or the high risk of experiencing a loss.
But if you’ve talked to a Dogecoin investor recently, you can see a glimmer of the idea that money can be inherently fun. At the same time, there’s the possibility of a large windfall (or loss). Making or consuming silly memes about Dogecoin just doesn’t feel very invigorating unless you have a vested financial interest in the price going up. But if you have plenty of DOGE tokens in your wallet, it can be highly entertaining in ways that seem inexplicable to others who aren’t invested.
In essence, Dogecoin is proof that in the near future, the concept of money might be viewed as entailing the possibility of creating fun via investment, as mediated by the potential for large gains. In other words, expect the act of simply holding money as well as choices about where to invest to become more inherently emotionally charged than they already are.
The takeaway? Those who can control their emotions and focus on the long term will profit.
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Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
