When Satoshi Nakamoto first unveiled Bitcoin back in 2009, he exhibited a lot of frustration with the traditional banking system, how it was controlled by centralized banks and governments that had the power to strip anyone’s fortune away from them.
He believed that this kind of financial system shouldn’t exist and that no one should be able to exercise this kind of power or control. And his solution to the problem was simple – a trustless, peer-to-peer replacement for cash that eliminated the need for any third parties, removing the banks and governments from the equation.
Satoshi’s vision of decentralized money, Bitcoin, resonated with billions of people worldwide, giving birth to thousands of novel cryptocurrencies and now, the idea of a decentralized internet that’s controlled by everyone. And with that, the crypto industry has taken on a much higher purpose, as it lays the foundations of a more just and peaceful world that brings equal opportunities to all.
At least, that’s the way Ben Caselin, chief marketing officer at the cryptocurrency exchange VALR, sees things.
In his keynote speech at the WOW Summit in Bangkok last month, Caselin talked about his idea of the greater purpose of the crypto industry. He stressed that developers need to understand the reasons and the main motivations behind what they’re doing.
“I want to look beneath the technology, but I don’t just want to talk about innovation,” Caselin said. “I want to go beneath innovation to the reason why we innovate. And so basically, this is going to be a discussion about purpose.”
Caselin said he’s making a number of assumptions that most people can relate to about the world we all live in today. The first is regarding the way technological innovation is transforming the world, with the internet revolutionizing communication and social media platforms like X transforming our ideas around journalism.
“If we look at the past hundred years, it becomes clear that we live in a very special time,” he pointed out. “And I think that Bitcoin and the rise of Bitcoin is part of this shift.”
Additionally, most people can agree that there are a number of “evolutionary trends” unfolding in the world at present, Caselin argued. These include the trend from ignorance to knowledge, which is happening globally thanks to the internet, a shift towards a state of civilization, and the move away from division and prejudice towards increased unity, thanks to globalization.
Moreover, a growing number of people in the world are moving away from self-centeredness towards a vision that is more “world-embracing”, Caselin believes.
These trends are all interconnected, Caselin stated, leading humanity towards a greater, higher purpose that may one day, soon, fundamentally change the world we live in.
“There is a great power that is unlocked when we connect these trends to our purpose,” he insisted. “With VALR, this is exactly what we do. We look at the higher purpose of things and we think about how to make sure that the work we do contributes to the bigger project of civilization. Now that might not sound very big, but for this industry to move forward properly, we have to expand our vision.”
Caselin said the industry needs to understand that what it’s doing is expanding people’s aspirations. It’s not just about developing new technology, or innovating or inventing things, he said, but more about uncovering secrets and bringing them into the known.
He likened the development of crypto to Thomas Edison’s endeavors to create the first light bulb. At the time, Edison had little idea that his effort would bring illumination to the entire world, for generations to come.
Crypto can do something similar, Caselin believes. Rather than build a new financial system, it can contribute to the advancement of civilization itself.
“So we need to think a little bit about what we are building,” Caselin said. “Maybe we are focused on this moment of the light bulb when we should instead be more focused on the global impact of our innovations.”
As to what that impact should be, Caselin believes it’s rather simple. The crypto industry must strive towards world peace, he insisted. After all, the vast majority of people in the world can agree that they’d like to live in a just and fair world governed by the principles of love. And crypto, with its principles of decentralization and trust, can help to foster that world.
It’s this thought that guides VALR itself in its technological development. For everything it builds, it tries to look at what it’s doing through a lens of “service to humanity,” Caselin explained.
“Nothing is greater than this purpose,” he concluded. “Whatever your project is and however much money it’s worth, nothing is greater.”
