Is Crypto an Opportunity or a Threat?
The fascination with cryptocurrencies shows no sign of fading. With the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in July 2025, US lawmakers added to the sense that crypto is here to stay. But look beyond the hype and an uncomfortable issue remains unresolved: Are cryptocurrencies a genuine innovation capable of serving the common good, or a speculative threat to financial and social stability?
Of course, not all cryptocurrencies are alike. Unbacked ones, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, have no underlying assets and derive their value purely from people’s belief that they have any. But backed cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, attempt to anchor their value through holdings of…
