Crypto Decrypted

14Trusting Trustless Transactions

When we use the word trust in crypto investing, we're talking about the often‐unconscious assumptions that underlie our economic activity. Technology continues to challenge and revise those assumptions, and crypto is no different. Consider how AI and the Internet of  Things continue to shift the duties of the auto mechanic in diagnosing and fixing newer cars. While we still need mechanics, we no longer need to trust them as much to check our car's fluids or diagnose auto systems because sensors do that. Economically and socially, the role of the local mechanic we trusted with our family car is slowly shifting. At some point, perhaps soon, states will have to scrap the current certification process for driving instructors as cars with self‐driving features become more common. There is a world that has just begun to open up to us.

So the auto parts and auto repair landscape shifts, as does as the auto industry at a macroeconomic level, because the nature of trust has evolved. If you would invest in the sustainable energy or electric vehicle industry sectors, we urge you to also consider how crypto is taking money in a similar direction.

The consciousness of consumer trust is always shifting. You trust the bank to honor its agreements with you. You trust that the store's bank and payment systems will operate as expected. And so on. This is why brands are so valuable: they are marks of trust. We see it even among the most sophisticated financial ...