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Jason Macias

ENGL 1301 124

Professor Briones

November 15, 2021

Cryptocurrencies the future of money

With how technology has advanced it is no surprise that our way of living has changed.

From electric vehicles, smart phones and watches to home appliances. It would not be a surprise

if soon our currency came to a change. In Anshu Siripurapu’s article Cryptocurrencies, Digital

Dollars, and the Future of Money, he strongly showcases how the future of our currency will

soon be taken over by crypto. His article goes into depth by explaining the origin of

cryptocurrencies, its growth since its introduction, and the impact it has made with our current

system. He defends his arguments by using a bit of pathos while explaining the benefits of

cryptocurrencies while presenting the dangers as well, including graphs and presenting the

values and popularity of the currency, including facts and evidence to strengthen his argument.

Siripurapu in his introduction goes on to explain that when cryptocurrencies were first

introduced, it has drastically grown in just a few years from digital novelties to trillion-dollar

values. Here he is giving the readers basic facts about how far crypto has gone since its start. It is

not rocket science on knowing the current value of crypto currency. Not much research has to be

done to prove so. Siripurapu then states, “Bitcoin and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies are

increasingly held as investments, and they are used to buy everything from software to real

estate to illegal drugs ” (Siripurapu). This goes to show how versatile cryptocurrency is on

what it can purchase. Cryptocurrency has had its history with the black market and illegal

drugs. He is not biased on just showing the benefits and bright sides of what can be
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purchased, but also the negatives to it. Siripurapu also explains, “Critics, however, say the

new technology is wildly unregulated and is empowering criminal groups, terrorist

organizations, and rogue states. Electricity-guzzling crypto mining is also harmful to the

environment, they argue” (Siripurapu). He acknowledges and states the concerns critics have

against cryptocurrency. This counteracts any argument someone could have against him being

biased. Siripurapu uses pathos again while explain the dangers of cryptocurrency. For example,

he states that cybercriminal attacks have been increasing and then demand payment to undo their

damage in crypto. He continues explaining that drug cartels and money launderers have been

incorporating cryptocurrencies to their activities. Siripurapu does an excellent job counterarguing

this idea by including that many central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have been

considering introducing their own digital cash, known as central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The CBDC has promised the speed and other benefits of cryptocurrency without the associated

risks.

In his article Siripurapu includes a graph of the value of cryptocurrencies. It ranges from

the years 2014 to 2021. There are two lines one being solid and the other being doted. The solid

line represents the value of all cryptocurrencies, while the doted line is all the cryptocurrencies

excluding bitcoin (the first and major cryptocurrency). The solid line from the beginning of

January 2014 was valued at 10.4 billion dollars. Now its recent value from August 2021 is 2.1

trillion dollars. If we were to exclude bitcoin, in January 2014 the total value of cryptocurrency

was 1.3 billion dollars. Its value now in August 2021 is 1.2 trillion dollars. The information

provided on the graph is by a website called coinmarketcap.com. The website

coinmarketcap.com is the most referenced price tracking website for cryptocurrencies.

Siripurapu is using supported evidence to show just how much more popular and valuable
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cryptocurrencies have become. Siripurapu includes another visual of a map of the whole world.

In this map countries shaded green are countries that legalized or partially legalized the use of

cryptocurrencies. The countries shaded yellow are countries that restricted or banned the use of

cryptocurrency. There are a total of 9 countries that restrict or banned the use of

cryptocurrencies, while there are more than 30 countries that legalized or partially legalized the

use of cryptocurrencies. The majority of the world is already becoming accustomed to accepting

cryptocurrency. The use of these stats strengthens and backs up his argument of how

cryptocurrency is becoming the future of money. He then goes on to explain that the prices of

bitcoin and cryptocurrencies fluctuates. He even compares cryptocurrencies to gold and mentions

another article by Lyn Alden Schwartzer titled Why Gold And Bitcoin Are Popular. The article

briefly covers how assets like gold and crypto are alike and popular.

Siripurapu begins to speak about how countries with historically weak currencies have

started popularizing the use of bitcoin. He states that in the year 2021 El Salvador became the

first country to make bitcoin a legal tender. Siripurapu is again using factual evidence on how a

country with a poor currency is adopting cryptocurrency. Another Interesting fact Siripurapu

brings up is how China, accounts for most of the world’s bitcoin mining, has recently taken some

action to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies. In September of 2021 China banned the use of

cryptocurrencies and crypto mining. Other countries including Bolivia, Nigeria, and Russia,

have also taken action on preventing the use of cryptocurrencies. The information provided is

more evidence of the popularity of cryptocurrency in China, all while not being biased and

showing the obstacles it has been enduring.

For the most part Anshu Siripurapu’s article, Cryptocurrencies, Digital Dollars, and the

Future of Money, strongly influences its audience that cryptocurrency will be the future of
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money. It is backed up by appealing to the emotions of the audience on the dangers of

cryptocurrencies, properly graphed values and popularity, and common facts and evidence. This

just goes to show that cryptocurrencies have grown over time, and with how far our technology

has come, it’s only a matter of time before our physical currency becomes a thing of the past.

With companies like Facebook introducing its new online 3-D virtual world called the

metaverse, do you think our current currency will be of use for that new world?
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Work Cited

Siripurapu, Anshu. “Cryptocurrencies, Digital Dollars, and the Future of Money.” Council on
Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations,
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/cryptocurrencies-digital-dollars-and-future-
money#chapter-title-0-5. Accessed 01 November 2021.