Promoting Physical Cryptocurrency

The idea behind cyber currency is that there is no need to use physical cash. Considering that, it isn’t unreasonable to ask why a tangible form of cryptocurrency is now being offered in a physical bank note format.

Cryptocurrency payments exist as digital rather than as physical entries to an online database describing specific transactions. As such, they are a substitute for physical money being carried and exchanged in what is otherwise known as “the real world.”

Bitcoin is generally considered to be the most secure and decentralized form of cryptocurrency, a cryptocurrency being a digital asset. Bitcoin includes smart contracts and a transparent ledger system and employs encryption techniques.

While some individuals may feel safer using cryptocurrency than traditional forms of cash due to what is perceived to be its privacy factors, the IRS can track crypto via tax forms, including 1099-B and 1099-K. These are the forms on which crypto exchanges and trading platforms report to the IRS. Several exchanges have been subpoenaed to reveal some of their user accounts. 

Cryptocurrency is digital and, as such, is an alternative form of payment that is created using encrypted algorithms. Cryptocurrencies function as a currency and as a virtual accounting system. Since Bitcoin is decentralized, it has been able to avoid being shut down by individual governments.

Considering the privacy aspects of cryptocurrencies, why would anyone want to use a physical Bitcoin? Blockchain transactions are posted on a public distributed ledger. A physical bitcoin can be redeemed by peeling off a one-time use holographic decal on the reverse of the physical coin, reading the private key, and transferring the digital bitcoin value to the redeemer to that individual’s digital bitcoin wallet.

In December 2023, London-based designer Tom Badley unveiled what he calls Bitcoin Banknotes with the objective of making a connection between cryptocurrency and traditional monetary structures.

According to Bitcoin-Banknote.com, “Bitcoin Banknote is a project by artist and designer Tom Badley and Independent Currencies, to document efforts to merge cryptocurrency and bank notes.”

A Dec. 16, 2023, posting to Designboom.com reads, “Bitcoin, with its roots in the word ‘coin,’ has long been visually associated with existing forms of money; even early logo iterations embraced the familiar imagery of coins. Tom Badley’s concept of the Bitcoin Banknote extends the cryptocurrency’s reach into the realm of cash, emphasizing the significance of paper wallets as Bitcoin’s offline storage medium. ‘Paper and private Bitcoin thus share a common domain. Many paper wallets have assumed the form of ‘play money,’ vouchers, or simple bank notes, to embellish them with the feel of money.”

Offline Cash can be found in an app store. Offline cash allows you to interact with offline notes, being a site where electronic cold storage meets secure printing. Offline Cash commissioned Badley to design four “bank notes,” each able to function as private, individual wallets with fixed Bitcoin values that are stored on scannable chips, allowing cryptocurrency to be transacted in cash rather than in an electronic format.

With the Badley notes, Offline Cash hopes to encourage “holders,” these being cryptocurrency enthusiasts, to use this product. Designboom said Badley’s physical notes are meant to “provide a reliable means of transacting Bitcoin in cash where traditional currency might be scarce, aligning with Bitcoin’s humanitarian role.”

The Badley notes are collectible and resemble traditional bank notes closely. According to sources, the Badley notes are printed on a plastic substrate and use a high-security six-color process for printing, including intaglio. The Badley notes are being billed as “a ‘world first’ in mass-produced Bitcoin wallets meeting bank note standards.”

Physical crypto coins and so-called bank notes are increasingly being treated as collectible numismatic objects, some of which have been sold by traditional coin auction houses. According to Designboom, “Since their release, the Bitcoin bank notes have garnered widespread praise for successfully achieving their dual purpose of delighting cryptocurrency enthusiasts and functioning as a trusted means of physical exchange.”