Share this article
Experts to CNBC: US Dollar, Not Bitcoin, is the Future Digital Currency
Experts recently told CNBC that the dollar, not bitcoin, is the future of digital currency.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 10:42 a.m. Published Apr 24, 2014, 7:50 p.m.
The world already has a digital currency, a group of experts told CNBC: the US dollar.
CNBC sought comments and opinions from market analysts such as ConvergEx’s chief market strategist, Nicholas Colas, as part of a CNBC 25 special report on the future of money.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In the piece, authored by Ted Kemp, Colas and others argued that the USD possesses many of the strengths associated with bitcoin.
He said:
"The $100 bill is the world's bitcoin. It's anonymous. It's easy to use. It's actually easier than bitcoin, because you don't need a computer or even power."
Money is already digital
One of the reasons merchants are drawn to digital currencies compared to current methods of payment acceptance is the lower transaction fees. Businesses that take BTC as a form of payment typically pay around 1% per transaction.
The experts told CNBC that digitized money can reduce cost barriers in a big way. However, for them, it doesn’t require a big shift in technology.
, a currency analyst for the DailyFX trading news site, said that for many, money is already digital.
Said Vecchio:
"The bank isn't holding a lot of money in there. The money in your account is data. It's a set of zeros and ones."
Bitcoin’s role in reducing transaction costs is noteworthy, but for Vecchio, this shift is part of a broader evolution in use of money worldwide.
He said:
"The future of money will really be on finding ways to transact in a lower-cost way, and that's a societal trend, not just bitcoin.”
Competition will cut costs
Another prediction focused on how, eventually, the resistance by banks to a low-cost payment environment will begin to shift as tools like PayPal and Square broaden their customer bases.
Even social media platforms could one day serve as a means to cheaply move dollars between parties, experts told CNBC.
For more on how Facebook may be pursuing such an initiative, read our full report.
Bitcoins and Dollars image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
