> According to TFA, they are searching for a solution that does not involve a decentralized blockchain. They are looking at portable physical devices (either de

> According to TFA, they are searching for a solution that does not involve a decentralized blockchain. They are looking at portable physical devices (either dedicated or built into your phone) to store balances and verify transactions. The goal sounds admirable and better than some Orwellian central database, but on the other hand it seems that it would to some extent also combine the drawbacks of both cash and hardware devices, especially in the case of something as complex as a phone: Things that would destroy the cash in my wallet would most likely also wreck my phone, but additionally my phone is more sensitive to being dropped (on the ground and/or in water), subject to random hardware failures, bad software updates, etc. etc. which currently wouldn't affect physical cash at all.