What will our world be like in 2035? – Our favorite cryptos will they have disappeared or will they be more than ever at the heart of our lives? Will the Bitcoin blockchain have changed the face of the world? We had fun, through little stories, imagining our world in the not so distant future. The story that follows is fictionalized, imaginary, without any pretension to guess the future. Have fun with us and dive into our new summer format. Embark in the DeLorean JDC, direction 2035!
Europe in the face of the euro crisis
February 1, 2035, place Jean Jaures, Saint-Etienne, 6:15 p.m.
Inside the brasserie Le Méliès, Max is having a drink with his colleagues. It’s their little pleasure after work. And then the money, you have to spend it quickly. Very quickly.
The waiter comes to them for payment. 500€ per pint. What would have seemed an astronomical sum a few years ago is not so expensive anymore, since Black Friday. On January 19, 2024, the euro collapsed. Italy, excluded from Europe in 2023 following divergences in monetary policy with Germany, caused its slow but irremediable fall. Other countries followed. Greece, Portugal… Rumors now speak of Spain. The euro zone is fragmenting, as is its single currency.
7:00 p.m. – Max walks up rue Charles de Gaulle along the tram line, which has been out of service for a long time, for lack of energy to make it work. Head to Place Carnot. The icy cold mixed with the mist penetrates his jacket. He can’t wait to get home.
Moreover, he must hurry to join Marie and the children to eat. At 8 p.m., the current in the Rhône-Alpes region will be cut off, due to a lack of electricity. It is a fact, now there is not enough energy for everyone. In turn, each area is plunged into darkness for 2 hours. Tonight, it’s the cities of Lyon and Saint-Etienne. The president nevertheless reassured them, the situation is temporary. Two new nuclear reactors will be commissioned this year at the Gravelines plant. What finally meet the electricity needs of the population.
The energy crisis accompanied Europe in its fall. The Great Euro Crisis was initiated by the loss of confidence of foreign lending organizations in the face of the deterioration of the economic situation in Germany. Europe in 2025 has tried to stop this infernal spiral. Tripling of taxes, limitation of bank withdrawals.
“An unprecedented collective effort for an unprecedented crisis” they said.
But faced with the revolt of the exhausted populations, Europe has backtracked. In 2027, governments have chosen the least painful solution… in the short term. Money printing galore.
– Thin, the bread! Max exclaims. He almost forgot.
7:10 p.m. – Max walks into the Maison Carnot bakery rubbing his hands to warm them up.
– Good evening, a wand please.
– Here is. 157€
— But yesterday it was €151!
– And yes my good sir, you have to buy the flour, answers the baker.
His bread under his arm, Max walks up rue Clovis Hugues to Square Girodet. He opens the door to his house. Finally the one that his parents bequeathed to him. Today, more means to buy. Money is devaluing so fast that banks now refuse to lend it. They know very well that the monthly repayments of their loans will no longer be worth anything in a few months. Even with an interest rate of 80080000%.
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Europe facing the energy shortage and Bitcoin
“Honey, it’s me. I have the bread.
– And I went to Auchan de Villars, to do the shopping for the month, answers Marie. According to the saleswoman, the prices will have doubled tomorrow. I warned my brother. He was working late today but he will still switch to Leclerc.
Every beginning of the month is a raid in the stores, worse than the first day of sales. As soon as they receive their salary, people spend it on shopping, in movies, in restaurants… On cigarettes or bottles of milk. Anything that can retain its value longer than the euro. Because the next day, they know they can buy twice as much as today with the same amount. And each month, wages adjust accordingly, upwards. A real headache for companies on the verge of bankruptcy.
Sometimes even the money runs out. Inflation is such that there simply isn’t enough new money in the economy to keep it running smoothly. Money printing created money shortages.
7:20 p.m. – Max finishes setting the table while Marie calls the children to the table.
‘And besides, Serge, the boss, alerted customers to the forthcoming closing of the supermarket,’ she told him.
– Oh? Max wonders.
“They just aren’t profitable anymore.
Prices are rising so fast that the costs of restocking the store exceed the revenue from previous sales. Taxes lose their value even before they reach the government’s pocket. European society is on the verge of failing.
7:45 p.m. – “… the ECB should release its “ european bitcoin “in the coming weeks to replace a euro that no longer works…” announces Clara Cheval to the TF1 newspaper.
– Another nonsense … grumbles Max. They harp on our ears with their new currency but people no longer trust them.
– We will have no choice but to use their stuff, anyway, meets Marie, resigned. As usual, we have no voice in the matter.
– As if we could start from scratch so easily … sighed Max.
8:25 p.m. – Lit by candlelight, the Detunes family play a game of Uno before going to bed. Max and his wife are worried about their future. To top it off, since 2028, Europe has banned the holding of foreign currencies to prevent capital flight. No more dollars, bans the possession of cryptos and this famous digital gold called Bitcoin which seems to be all the rage across borders.
These innovations are in any case very little relayed by the traditional European media nowadays.
9:55 p.m. – Max goes to bed, wrapping himself in his blanket. 17°C on the thermometer placed on the shelf. With -15°C outside, it’s normal for the temperature in the house to drop quickly. It will go up when they switch on the electricity again in 5 minutes, he reassures himself.
Through the window, the frost progresses along the panes. This winter is the harshest ever. While in August, they sweated all the water from their bodies in scorching temperatures. The climate is decidedly more and more strange.
Hyperinflation threatens all countries caught in the frenzy of money printing. This is what happened at Zimbabwe in the late 1990s, whose example inspired this story. Because money must always be based on work, an expenditure of energy, in order to transmit real value. The problem with a debt-based system is that money today is created in a click, effortlessly. Printing money has become so convenient for our leaders. But one day we will have to pay the price. Please note that the future of Europe will not necessarily be identical to that of Zimbabwe, but the signs that we are currently seeing are worrying. In this context, a limited digital resource, whose creation requires the real expenditure of energy is interesting. This new process responding to current issues instant transfers and ecological transition is a candidate for replacing the system in place. This digital gold Named bitcoin, will it be successful in the long term or will it forever remain a utopia? Only the future will tell us.
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