A Catholic Introduction to Cryptocurrency
“Economics and technology are meaningless if they do not benefit man, for it is he they are to serve” (Pope St. Paul VI).
It has been about 15 years since cryptocurrency was invented (after the 2008 financial crisis). According to a 2023 Pew survey, only 17% of U.S. adults say they have invested, traded, or used it.
What Is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a digital asset (defined by Investopedia as anything digital that has value, is owned, and is discoverable) that is created and traded online. There are thousands of name brands of cryptocurrencies, including the well-known Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Tether. It is valuable because, similar to gold, there is a finite amount. In the case of Bitcoin, for example, only 21 million will be produced.
Currently, the IRS looks at cryptocurrency as property, not currency, which means if you purchase them for personal or investment purposes, both the profits from the purchase and the sale are subject to capital gains tax. Cryptocurrency is stored in a cryptocurrency wallet, which is an application that stores the passkeys used to transact with and access cryptocurrency. Types of electronic wallets include using an exchange (such as Bitcoin and Coinbase), a cold wallet (hardware that stores it offline), and a hot wallet (an application that stores it online). Some investors physically store their private crypto keys in physical or paper wallets.
Why Should a Catholic Businesswoman Learn About Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is often lumped in discussions alongside other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR). As a result, many investors still do not know where to start when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, especially after seeing headlines concerning extreme highs and lows as well the international scandal resulting in Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction for fraud after his “crypto empire vanished overnight.” The crypto market lost $1.9 billion after his company, FTX, declared bankruptcy.
In addition, only 16% of women aged 18 to 29 say they have used cryptocurrency, compared with 41% of men of the same age range, according to the 2023 Pew study.
However, despite most people’s lack of confidence in this newer technology, Matthew Pinto (founder of Ascension Press) believes that Catholics need to have “hopeful and hungry hearts for new technology which can be used for common good,” according to a Catholic Herald article.
His interest in cryptocurrency prompted him in 2022 to host the first Catholic Crypto Conference. It brought together theologians, philosophers, and cryptocurrency users and professionals to review and analyze opportunities and risks, as well as to discuss blockchain technology (a distributed ledger that can provide a storage base for parish documents, for example) and Web 3 (a way to allow users to own and exchange digital assets without relying on third parties).
“We need to (consider) these things now,” Pinto told Catholic Review. “They can be used for the greater glory of God, and the common good of Gospel values.”
A Catholic Approach
Pinto encouraged people learning about crypto to approach it with a “Catholic instinct that looks at creation with hope and prudence.”
In one unexpected example, Father Matthew Barulica, an “orange pilled” (referring to a former bitcoin “nonbeliever”), chaplain of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles monastery, set up the nuns with hardware wallets and taught them how to send and receive cryptocurrency and how to pursue financial sovereignty in support of their new church—which was possible thanks to a generous 2017 bitcoin donation.
In addition to Pinto’s conference website, which has some session previews available online, the next step to learning more about cryptocurrency may be to connect with Catholic financial planners who note they are experienced in cryptocurrency. (Please note that this link is not an endorsement by the writer or CWIB of any particular financial planner or investment but provided solely for informational purposes.) “The church needs to be here right now, rather than eight to 10 years from now,” Pinto said about laypeople in particular becoming more comfortable and proactive in their response to new technologies.
Depending upon the services and products we deliver and make and the size and reach of our business, it may be wise to have a conversation with professionals about the risks (e.g., volatility, developing regulation, security, and technical concerns) and possible benefits (e.g., decentralized, accessible, lower fees and quicker use, and transparent on blockchain technology) of investing in cryptocurrency.
Whether we embrace this technology or not, reflecting on an address by Pope Francis, quoted in the Catholic Herald article, may be helpful as we think about cryptocurrency’s potential impact on the future: “A better world [is] possible due to technology if it is accompanied by an ethic inspired by a vision of the common good.”
Linda A. Burrows, an attorney who specializes in trusts and estates as well as related tax matters, practices in California. She is the founder of Soul Soda, a non-profit with the mission of refreshing faith in those, particularly Catholics, who are feeling disconnected from their religious roots. She is a wife and mother.