With growing concerns about cybersecurity and national resilience, authorities are encouraging citizens to keep physical cash on hand.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says this shift exposes the fragility of centralized systems. It also presents a clear use case for decentralized alternatives like Ethereum.
A Fragile System Meets Reality
Sweden’s embrace of digital payments was once seen as visionary. By 2023, only about 10% of purchases in the country were made using cash, according to The Guardian. The convenience was clear—but so was the risk. In response to rising geopolitical tension and cyber threats, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency published a guide urging citizens to hold cash for at least a week, in case digital systems go down.
Buterin responded to this development by citing the “fragility” of centralized payment networks. “Nordics are walking back the cashless society initiative because their centralized implementation of the concept is too fragile,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). In other words, even the most tech-savvy countries are recognizing the need for backup systems in times of crisis.
Source: X
Ethereum as a Digital Fallback
Could Ethereum step in where centralized systems fail? Buterin believes so—if the network continues to evolve. He highlighted the importance of Ethereum being both resilient and private to serve as a reliable alternative during instability.
He also touched on an emerging solution: fully offline crypto transactions using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. These tools allow for private transactions that can be verified without revealing user data. The good news? “We know how to do it,” Buterin said. The challenge? These solutions still depend on trusted hardware and enforcement mechanisms to prevent double-spending—a situation where one token is fraudulently used twice.
Real-world progress on this front is already happening. In Kenya, the humanitarian group GiveDirectly uses blockchain-based systems to deliver aid in remote areas, even in low-connectivity environments. This shows that decentralized tech can serve vulnerable populations when traditional finance falls short.
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