Article by Richard van Stel

Gulden (NLG) – The future of Dutch finance?

Among many Dutchmen there is a resentment toward the Euro currency. We rejected its adoption through a referendum, but it still came. The say on our own currency was given away to the European Union, an institution that is primarily looking to spread its own influence rather than to serve the interests of each individual member state. Among other things, this had led to the Dutch taxpayer contributing more to the European project than they receive back.

In short, many people long for the return of the Gulden

The Gulden was the currency of the Netherlands before adopting the Euro. However, returning to using Guldens won’t change much. The currency will still be intrinsically worthless and fiat. The value of another person’s money will still depend on the policy of a central bank (and yes, inflation is theft). The use of one currency will still be imposed on all people by the government, regardless of the individual accepting it. Moreover, the Dutch economy has always been strongly connected with the the German economy, both when we used Guldens and now that we use Euros as well.

The only difference between the Euro and the Gulden is the say on the currency’s policy. Either the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Dutch Central Bank is in control.

Although this decentralization is a good step on our way to achieve more freedom, nothing essential really changes in the financial system. Therefore, many people are starting to search for other alternatives like cryptocurrencies. The most renowned cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, but there are also many so-called Altcoins in circulation, such as Litecoin, Dash, Ethereum, Dogecoin etc.

Now Gulden makes its come back in the form of a cryptocurrency

In comparison to Bitcoin, Gulden (NLG) seems to have much potential for daily use. Namely, it has been designed to be very user-friendly. You can use it on your computer and mobile phone and the currency is easily tradeable for Euros and Bitcoin.

Also, the system on which Gulden runs is very safe and fast, even better than Bitcoin’s. Apart from the fact that the blockchain is secure and fast, it also comes with the advantage that the user’s privacy is guaranteed. Transactions do not take place between people, but between the two parties’ addresses. In this blog post we won’t look into the technical part of cryptocurrencies too deeply. For more information about this topic, see the links at the end of the page.

The future of Gulden seems positive for the Netherlands. Many people miss the old Gulden and they ask to leave the Eurozone. Gulden anticipates this well through its name. Moreover, many people in the Netherlands are open to adopting cryptocurrency. Many stores in the country already accept Bitcoin and more stores are starting to accept Gulden as well.

Furthermore, cryptocurrencies like Gulden have an advantage that central bank issued fiat currencies don’t have. Namely, where central banks can create money out of nothing as much as they want – and thus manipulating the value of your money – there will only be a certain amount of Guldens in circulation. The result of this is that the system itself cannot cause inflation. Everything is based on demand and supply, or in other words, the will of the individual.

It would be wise to invest big in Gulden now that the price is still low, but you can never be wrong by just trying it out. Also, switching from fiat currency to cryptocurrency is a logical step for achieving more freedom in a short term.

Bron: Steemit @rvanstel, Gulden, The future of Dutch finance.