加密貨幣如何挑戰大銀行以及為什麼高層人士的擔憂是正確的

對於全球各個角落的主要銀行來說，去中心化加密貨幣對我們金融體系的控制所面臨的威脅已經消失了一段時間。

The dominance of major banks in global finances is facing a new challenge with the rise of decentralized cryptocurrencies. While traditional banks operate within centralized systems, cryptocurrencies are built onto decentralized networks. This inherent nature of blockchain technology means that there is no single institution controlling how money is spent in a crypto economy. In theory, one person will be able to engage in a financial transaction with another person without needing a bank.

隨著去中心化加密貨幣的興起，主要銀行在全球金融中的主導地位正面臨新的挑戰。傳統銀行在中心化系統內運營，而加密貨幣則建立在去中心化網路上。區塊鏈技術的這種固有性質意味著沒有一個機構可以控制加密經濟中資金的支出方式。理論上，一個人無需銀行就能與另一個人進行金融交易。

This shift is emerging as a serious threat to the control that banks have over transactions. But are there actually any monetary benefits for the consumer? Well, yes. High transaction fees have long been an unpopular reality for many customers, particularly for international and cross-border payments with transaction fees of up to 3% commonplace. Blockchain, however, allows people to send cryptocurrencies directly to each other without paying the transaction fees set by the banks.

這種轉變正成為對銀行交易控制的嚴重威脅。但實際上對消費者來說有任何金錢上的好處嗎？嗯，是的。高額交易費用長期以來一直是許多客戶不受歡迎的現實，尤其是國際和跨境支付，交易費用高達 3% 的情況屢見不鮮。然而，區塊鏈允許人們直接相互發送加密貨幣，而無需支付銀行設定的交易費用。

Slow transaction processing times cause even more annoyance to consumers, with our current complex financial system elongating transaction times. Nowhere is this seen more than in the online casino industry, with many players waiting multiple days to withdraw their winnings. A payout should be as fast as possible, and this is where crypto once again offers an improvement for consumers. Crypto bypasses these overcomplicated systems providing near instant transactions.

由於我們目前複雜的金融系統延長了交易時間，緩慢的交易處理時間給消費者帶來更多麻煩。這種情況在線上賭場行業最為常見，許多玩家等待數天才能提取獎金。支付應該盡可能快，這就是加密貨幣再次為消費者提供改進的地方。加密貨幣繞過了這些過於複雜的系統，提供近乎即時的交易。

It’s not just the loss of control that is challenging the big banks either, the emerging possibility of disintermediation in banking is raising the very real question of whether consumers will soon need banks at all. With decentralized platforms giving users the ability to control their own finances and innovative technologies alongside allowing long-established banking processes like lending, insurance and investment to become automated, the function of banks and other long-standing financial institutions could soon become obsolete.

對大銀行構成挑戰的不僅是失去控制權，銀行業脫媒的可能性正在引發一個非常現實的問題：消費者是否很快就會需要銀行。隨著去中心化平台讓用戶能夠控制自己的財務和創新技術，同時允許貸款、保險和投資等長期建立的銀行流程實現自動化，銀行和其他長期存在的金融機構的功能可能很快就會過時。

Without adapting to the shifting realities of modern finance, big banks could soon find their customer base dwindling and with it their revenue streams. While traditional financial institutions may be reeling at the threat of disintermediation, it paints a positive picture for consumers who stand to benefit from a slicker financial system.

如果不適應現代金融不斷變化的現實，大銀行很快就會發現自己的客戶群不斷減少，收入來源也隨之減少。儘管傳統金融機構可能正面臨脫媒的威脅，但它為消費者描繪了一幅正面的圖景，他們將從更完善的金融體系中受益。

As globalization progresses, crypto’s unique ability to not just work for those in high-income countries but also for those in developing nations presents another key issue for big banks. Due to the risks and high costs involved in operating in some of the world’s poorest countries, many of the major banks have simply overlooked them. With a reported 1.4 billion people across the globe remaining unbanked, it is clear that the current banking system does not work on a global scale.

隨著全球化的進展，加密貨幣的獨特能力不僅為高收入國家的人們服務，也為發展中國家的人們服務，這給大銀行帶來了另一個關鍵問題。由於在世界上一些最貧窮國家開展業務存在風險和高成本，許多主要銀行根本忽略了這些風險。據報道，全球仍有 14 億人沒有銀行帳戶，顯然目前的銀行體系無法在全球發揮作用。

Utilising modern digital financial services which provide these populations access to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the chance for a globally inclusive financial system can be realized. The wheels are already in motion with forward-thinking companies like BitPesa, a Nairobi-based crypto exchange that is utilising blockchain technology to transform the efficiency of payments across sub-Saharan Africa, already showing that crypto has a part to play in the globalisation of the economy.

利用現代數位金融服務為這些人群提供進入加密貨幣生態系統的機會，可以實現全球包容性金融體系的機會。 BitPesa 等具有前瞻性思維的公司已經開始行動，BitPesa 是一家總部位於內羅畢的加密貨幣交易所，它正在利用區塊鏈技術來改變撒哈拉以南非洲地區的支付效率，這已經表明加密貨幣在全球化中發揮著重要作用。

The big banks have lost the trust of many people following the financial crises that have hit ordinary people in recent times, most notably the 2008 financial disaster which is widely accepted to be the fault of irresponsible practices in the banking and finance sector. Considering this, the inherent transparency offered by crypto, with payments tracked and verified in the public domain, has offered many disenchanted consumers an alternative to traditional financial institutions.

近年來，金融危機席捲一般百姓，尤其是2008年的金融災難，人們普遍認為這是銀行和金融部門不負責任的行為造成的，大銀行已經失去了許多人的信任。考慮到這一點，加密貨幣提供的固有透明度以及在公共領域追蹤和驗證的支付，為許多失望的消費者提供了傳統金融機構的替代方案。

Further reinforced by the highly secure nature of encryption-backed cryptocurrencies which reduces the risk of fraud and theft compared to traditional accounts, significant portions of the population now see crypto as a safer way of spending money. With research suggesting that only half of New Zealanders now trust their banks, many of those working in leading banks are right to be nervous.

與傳統帳戶相比，加密支援的加密貨幣的高度安全性降低了詐欺和盜竊的風險，這進一步強化了很大一部分人現在將加密貨幣視為一種更安全的花錢方式。研究表明，現在只有一半的紐西蘭人信任他們的銀行，許多在領先銀行工作的人感到緊張是有道理的。

While it is true that many of the major global banks were initially sceptical, industry leaders are now accepting the need to adapt or risk getting left behind. In the US, investment giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both now invest in Bitcoin assets while offering their clients crypto investment funds. Across the pond in Europe, many of Italy’s big banks are now using blockchain network, Spunta, for processing transactions while the three biggest banks in Japan have recently announced they will be adopting cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments.

儘管許多全球主要銀行最初都持懷疑態度，但行業領導者現在已經接受了適應的必要性，否則就有被拋在後面的風險。在美國，投資巨頭高盛和摩根士丹利現在都投資比特幣資產，同時向客戶提供加密投資基金。在歐洲的另一邊，義大利的許多大銀行現在都在使用區塊鏈網路 Spunta 來處理交易，而日本三大銀行最近宣布將採用加密貨幣進行跨境支付。

The continued influence of crypto on the global financial landscape has without doubt highlighted a number of challenges for the big banks, with their place in the future of modern payments being called into question. As evolutionary biology shows, things must adapt or risk extinction – with traditional banks now starting to incorporate crypto into their financial toolbox, they will be hoping to be part of the future financial revolution and avoid being left behind.

加密貨幣對全球金融格局的持續影響無疑凸顯了大銀行面臨的許多挑戰，它們在現代支付的未來中的地位受到質疑。正如進化生物學所表明的那樣，事物必須適應，否則就有滅絕的風險——隨著傳統銀行現在開始將加密貨幣納入其金融工具箱，他們將希望成為未來金融革命的一部分，並避免被拋在後面。