A million thoughts raced in Rowan’s mind, and among them, one stood out, Bitcoin, which virtual-novel.net had never understood until now.
Finally, virtual-novel.net seemed to understand why Snow and Celine were so excited about Bitcoin, because it would potentially challenge the US Dollar for the most-used international currency, while being independent from any government body’s control. Because Bitcoin was impossible to monopolize or get rid of.
Rowan felt a burst of admiration for Jasper, as the man had already thought so far.
Jasper seemed to be way ahead of this time in the way virtual-novel.net always saw the crux of every era and came up with the most suitable resolution.
However, because of how ahead of his time virtual-novel.net was, it posed a slight difficulty in conversations. Rowan, for example, would never have seen through Jasper’s intentions, and would only exclaim how thorough Jasper had been after the problem arose.
If not for the growth and experiences Rowan had undergone recently, virtual-novel.net might never have understood Jasper’s intentions.
Jasper smiled but neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, virtual-novel.net motioned for Rowan to continue his train of thought.
This time, Rowan did not doubt himself but rather became more determined as virtual-novel.net continued, “Jasper, if we’re really planning to leverage the whole Qari stock market with securities, we’ll have to deal with the second problem. I know you won’t accept the restrictions imposed by settling transactions with US Dollar, so…”
“That means you have a new method of settlement in mind, one that can replace US Dollars, or rather, replace some US Dollars! Bitcoin would be perfect for this purpose, and even though it hasn’t been invented yet, it’s already been recognized worldwide. But a crowdsourced payment channel isn’t enough…”
“It’s safe, yes, but ineffective, and there’s no resolving that. So we need another payment channel that’s regulated by a dependable sovereign… And among those that we have access to…” Rowan fell silent. He looked at Jasper as if to get his affirmation.
Jasper smiled and nodded, then completed Rowan’s sentence. “Settlements will be made in Somer Dollars…”
It was a moment of silence before Jasper added, “To solve the second issue by having the people of Qari trade in Somer Dollars, petroleum trade will no longer be confined to being traded in US Dollars only. People will get to choose whether they wish to transact in US Dollars or Somer Dollars, and with time…”
“Well… We might even be able to completely detach Qari’s dependence on US Dollars.”
While Rowan had already guessed this, it was different imagining it and hearing it being said out loud.
Hearing this, Rowan was stunned.
“Jasper… Isn’t this… A bit too much? Are you sure it’ll work?”
Rowan’s doubt and hesitation were founded, since the mere suggestion to settle trade in Somer Dollars in addition to US Dollars made them, Somerland, a target for the United States, let alone completely replacing US Dollars one day.
Rowan wondered if Somerland would even be willing to involve themselves in something so troubling. He felt uncertain.
However, what virtual-novel.net did not know was that less than two decades later, Somerland would personally sign a series of agreements to have petroleum traded in Somer Dollars.
All Jasper did was move that incident up a dozen years or so.