Influx

Great story in Wired that explains why the days of paper money should be numbered.

It’s surprising we haven’t seen Mastercard, American Express and Paypal exploit the potential “green” angle of digital money.

“Unfortunately, the world’s governments remain stuck in the past. To
maintain our stock of hard currency, the US Treasury creates hundreds
of billions of dollars worth of new bills and coins each year. And that
ain’t money for nothing: The cost to taxpayers in 2008 alone was $848
million, more than two-thirds of which was spent minting coins that
many people regard as a nuisance. (The process also used up more than
14,823 tons of zinc, 23,879 tons of copper, and 2,514 tons of nickel.)
In an era when books, movies, music, and newsprint are transmuting from
atoms to bits, money remains irritatingly analog. Physical currency is
a bulky, germ-smeared, carbon-intensive, expensive medium of exchange.
Let’s dump it. “

Posted by Ed Cotton