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0:00
Hi, I'm Dr. Maya Finger
from the College of
Management Academic Studies.
My work focuses on ESG and
promoting global knowledge and
development in this field.
0:13
In this talk, we will continue
the in-depth discussion about
the ESGness of Bitcoin and
talk about the two
other aspects of ESG,
S, society and G,
governance and how they
are reflected in Bitcoin.
0:31
From a social point of view,
some equate Bitcoin
with freedom,
freedom of access to
financial resources,
freedom of action, and perhaps
most of all, freedom
of identity.
In the cryptocurrency space,
anyone can own Bitcoin,
even a lot of it,
without revealing
their identity.
The mechanism allows it.
Instead of a traditional
bank account,
one simply sets up
a digital wallet without
the need for an ID
or other identifying information
and can start
purchasing Bitcoin.
Therefore, cryptocurrencies
and Bitcoin
can eliminate several of
the barriers to accessing
financial services because
not everybody has an ID,
but almost everyone has
a smartphone and access
to the internet.
1:20
Satoshi Nakamoto, the
creator of Bitcoin,
wrote in their white
paper in 2008,
"A purely peer-to-peer
version of
electronic cash would
allow online payments
to be sent directly
from one party to
another without going through
a financial institution."
Removing intermediaries
and creating
a decentralized currency has
some advantages for society.
First, as long as you have
a sufficient balance in
your digital wallet,
you can use Bitcoin and
perform all kinds of
financial transaction,
such as buying or selling,
purchasing product and making
and receiving payments.
Opening a digital
wallet does not
require providing any
identification document.
Therefore, even people
who do not have
an ID such as those in
remote areas of Africa,
can own Bitcoin, make
financial transaction and gain
access to various
financial sources.
Another example is El Salvador,
which approved a
proposal to make
Bitcoin a legal
tender in June 2021.
70% of the country's
population that does not
have a bank account can now
have access to
financial services.
The opposite claim is that
cryptocurrencies may
be for the rich only
due to the resources it takes
to mine, store, and transact.
But it's technology,
Blockchain is indeed
the basis for
many inventions designed to
reduce social gaps and
increase financial inclusion.
