Watching the debate between the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman and the crypto mogul CZ was the most informative lesson from the Crypto and the Blockchain MasterClass.

The key concerns that Professor Krugman raised circled around what is inherent in blockchain that solves what traditional institutions aren’t able to address. How much of blockchain and crypto’s success comes from profitability rather than their superior design by nature? Isn’t the problem a regulatory one rather than a technological one?

CZ admits that a decentralized system is not as efficient as a centralized system, but the key is that the centralized system needs a benevolent leader, which is not always guaranteed. The best way for banks to push off the crypto and blockchain adoption is to make international transfers available and cross-border investments easy, accessible, and low-cost. Blockchain is not the only option to solve the problem. We can view this new technology as a challenger that might accelerate the reduction of costs for everything and inspire improvements in the functioning of the current institutions.

The argument is insightful, but I think the value and potential of blockchain technology go beyond simply challenging the established sectors. The banks have already been facing competition before blockchain became widely used, and they were willing to lower cross-border transaction fees for VIPs, for instance, to entice them to make overseas investments. The question is simply whether they have the incentive to lower the costs for the users. I think what blockchain outperforms traditional banks is that it is more accessible, more inclusive, and gives a lot more people, not just the VIPs, the opportunity to invest projects abroad (or simply become financially included) while giving creators the chance to market their work globally.

The #freedom, the #hope, the #opportunities, and the #equality, I think, are the most significant values that blockchain and crypto contribute to this not-so-perfect world.